WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Down 0.5%

Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) fell 0.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $229.39 and last traded at $229.51. 12,738 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 129,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

WD-40 Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $245.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.91 and a beta of -0.02.

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

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. WD-40’s payout ratio is 70.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WD-40 news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman purchased 182 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $272.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at $837,146.66. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Steven A. Brass purchased 432 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,771,424.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman bought 182 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $272.42 per share, with a total value of $49,580.44. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $837,146.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 942 shares of company stock valued at $226,897. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WD-40

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 316,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $80,115,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in WD-40 during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,142,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in WD-40 by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 152,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,005,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 136,121 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 90,872 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $18,469,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during 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.