Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of ODC opened at $45.67 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.50. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a twelve month low of $29.47 and a twelve month high of $49.72. The firm has a market cap of $666.50 million, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.63.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $116.91 million during the quarter.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 19.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total value of $87,738.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,942. The trade was a 35.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $134,833.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 70,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,026,529. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oil-Dri Co. of America

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 81.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 973.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,157 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 12.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC bought a new position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in Oil-Dri Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Institutional investors own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Company Profile

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a manufacturer and supplier of specialty sorbent products for the pet care, animal health and nutrition, fluids purification, agricultural ingredients, sports field, industrial and automotive markets. It operates through the Business to Business Products Group and Retail and Wholesale Products Group segments.