WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Given “Buy” Rating at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reissued their buy rating on shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $322.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

WD-40 Price Performance

WDFC opened at $277.62 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $263.89 and a 200 day moving average of $248.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.66 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. WD-40 has a 52-week low of $211.03 and a 52-week high of $292.36.

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

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s payout ratio is 68.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In related news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total value of $289,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,310.30. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.