Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $60.32 and last traded at $59.42, with a volume of 110643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $828.09 million, a P/E ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.32.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The firm had revenue of $115.50 million for the quarter.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from Oil-Dri Co. of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 21.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ellen-Blair Chube sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.51, for a total value of $148,785.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,820 shares in the company, valued at $502,468.20. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.66% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 100.0% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 100.0% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 112,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,834,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 98.0% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 891 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 100.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.