Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 77,626 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the previous session’s volume of 82,348 shares.The stock last traded at $94.8810 and had previously closed at $94.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ODC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oil-Dri Corporation Of America presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Stock Up 2.1%

The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.93 and its 200-day moving average is $74.42.

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

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 502 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 87,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,304,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 4.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. 49.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.