WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Trading 1.3% Higher

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) shot up 1.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $236.91 and last traded at $236.42. 7,268 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 128,455 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $313.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

WD-40 Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $245.19 and its 200-day moving average is $243.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 47.19 and a beta of -0.02.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.01. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 32.30%. The firm had revenue of $139.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven A. Brass bought 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,547 shares in the company, valued at $4,771,424.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman acquired 182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $272.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at $837,146.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven A. Brass bought 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,771,424.34. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 942 shares of company stock worth $226,897 over the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WD-40

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in WD-40 in the first quarter valued at $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in WD-40 during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 100.0% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Company Profile

WD-40 Company develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides multi-purpose maintenance products that include aerosol sprays, non-aerosol trigger sprays, precision pens, and in liquid-bulk form products under the WD-40 Multi-Use brand name; specialty maintenance products, such as penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers under the WD-40 Specialist brand; and bike-specific products.