WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Trading 0.5% Higher

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) rose 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $230.22 and last traded at $227.96. Approximately 24,676 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 133,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

WD-40 Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50 and a beta of -0.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $139.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,142,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at $19,697,000. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the 3rd quarter worth $6,223,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 311,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $63,257,000 after acquiring an additional 18,812 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 55,725 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,325,000 after acquiring an additional 18,205 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WD-40

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.