Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) Short Interest Up 74.0% in August

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 654,754 shares, an increase of 74.0% from the July 30th total of 376,348 shares. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 180,285 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Price Performance

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America stock traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $90.17. 15,799 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 89,666. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $107.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 3.28. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 11.35%.The business had revenue of $126.33 million for the quarter. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s payout ratio is 23.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ODC. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ODC. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 20.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 57.4% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 502 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 8,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 49.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Company Profile

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets sorbent and filtration products for industrial, environmental and consumer applications. Its flagship offerings include clay- and diatomaceous earth–based cat litters, calcium silicate absorbents for spill control and cleanup, and purification media designed to remove contaminants from petroleum, chemical and food-processing streams.

Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the company has evolved from a single-product operation into a diversified provider of mineral- and chemical-based solutions.