Schiff Nutrition International announced a special cash dividend.

Investors were swallowing up shares of Schiff Nutrition International Wednesday after the company beat The Street in its third quarter and announced a special cash dividend.

Showing confidence in its ability to generate cash flow, the Salt Lake City-based manufacturer of branded and private-label vitamins said its board of directors approved a 50 cent per share dividend, payable on Apr. 14 to shareholders on record as of Mar. 31. Anxious to take advantage, investors clamored for the stock, sending shares up 14.3%, or $1.30, to $10.40 in Wednesday morning trading. Shares of Schiff Nutrition International have more than doubled in the past year.

According to B. Riley analyst Ian Corydon, Schiff is sitting on roughly $59 million in cash and has been looking to acquire other branded vitamin makers. Corydon tells Forbes that "Schiff is looking for companies with niche products to add into their distribution." But unable to find suitable targets so far, the firm's board decided to share some of the wealth with investors through the special dividend.

Corydon says that MegaRed, Schiff's Omega-3 krill oil intended to support cardiovascular health, has been a big growth driver for the company. After getting sales started in Costco a year ago, Corydon notes the product is now being sold in Walgreens as well and "[Schiff] is gearing up to launch MegaRed in Wal-Mart soon."

For its third quarter Schiff earned $5.7 million, or 20 cents per share, up from $3.6 million, or 13 cents per share in the year-ago period. Sales for the quarter ended Feb. 28 climbed to $53.3 million, up from just under $50 million in the third quarter of 2009. Those figures beat the estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who predicted earnings of 14 cents per share on sales of $51.4 million.