Versor Investments LP Buys New Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 898 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WDFC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in WD-40 during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in WD-40 in the first quarter valued at $43,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in WD-40 by 57.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in WD-40 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total transaction of $289,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,999 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,310.30. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WDFC shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of WD-40 from $303.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

WD-40 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $279.01 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $263.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.60 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.70. WD-40 has a 12 month low of $211.03 and a 12 month high of $292.36.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.11). WD-40 had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 31.53%. The business had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.88%.

About WD-40

WD-40 Company develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides multi-purpose maintenance products that include aerosol sprays, non-aerosol trigger sprays, precision pens, and in liquid-bulk form products under the WD-40 Multi-Use brand name; specialty maintenance products, such as penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers under the WD-40 Specialist brand; and bike-specific products.