Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Stake Increased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,446 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.72% of Oil-Dri Co. of America worth $21,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ODC. FMR LLC boosted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 81.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Oil-Dri Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new position in Oil-Dri Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Oil-Dri Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ODC opened at $43.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a one year low of $29.47 and a one year high of $49.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.86. The company has a market capitalization of $632.23 million, a P/E ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Oil-Dri Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.81%.

Insider Activity at Oil-Dri Co. of America

In other news, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total value of $87,738.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.