Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.58 and last traded at $46.51, with a volume of 16451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut Oil-Dri Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.10 and its 200 day moving average is $27.34. The company has a market cap of $692.75 million, a PE ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.52.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 21.84%.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oil-Dri Co. of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ODC. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 81.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 1.0% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 37,041 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,555,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 112,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,834,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

About Oil-Dri Co. of America

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.