WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Trading Up 0.7%

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)’s share price was up 0.7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $232.31 and last traded at $231.65. Approximately 6,984 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 129,215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24 and a beta of -0.02. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.79.

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

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven A. Brass acquired 432 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $232.22 per share, with a total value of $100,319.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,771,424.34. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman purchased 182 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $272.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $837,146.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven A. Brass acquired 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 942 shares of company stock valued at $226,897. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WD-40

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in WD-40 during the third quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in WD-40 by 8.7% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in WD-40 by 1.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 38,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,832,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in WD-40 by 0.9% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 21,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,419,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in WD-40 by 13.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,807 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.