Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Stock Down 1.6 %

Oil-Dri Co. of America stock opened at $43.48 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a 1-year low of $29.47 and a 1-year high of $49.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $634.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.44.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $116.91 million during the quarter.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oil-Dri Co. of America news, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $134,833.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 70,796 shares in the company, valued at $3,026,529. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total value of $87,738.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,942. The trade was a 35.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oil-Dri Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 81.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 112,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,834,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,009 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 24,894 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,182,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

About Oil-Dri Co. of America

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a manufacturer and supplier of specialty sorbent products for the pet care, animal health and nutrition, fluids purification, agricultural ingredients, sports field, industrial and automotive markets. It operates through the Business to Business Products Group and Retail and Wholesale Products Group segments.