AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Stock Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 321.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,108 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Amundi lifted its position in WD-40 by 181.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,875 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 4,432 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth $17,903,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth $6,537,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in WD-40 by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,345 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,481,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in WD-40 by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 150,557 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,537,000 after buying an additional 5,095 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $322.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

WD-40 Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of WDFC opened at $246.78 on Tuesday. WD-40 has a 52-week low of $211.03 and a 52-week high of $292.36. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 47.28 and a beta of -0.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $235.43 and a 200 day moving average of $253.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $153.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.40 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. This is an increase from WD-40’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.03%.

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.