Short Interest in Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Rises By 85.0%

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 144,300 shares, a growth of 85.0% from the December 31st total of 78,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 41,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oil-Dri Co. of America

In other Oil-Dri Co. of America news, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total value of $87,738.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at $162,942. This trade represents a 35.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,026,529. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.66% of the company’s stock.

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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 267,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,455,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 1.4% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 162,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,176,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,006 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 47,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. 49.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Stock Down 1.1 %

ODC stock opened at $42.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.63. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a one year low of $29.47 and a one year high of $46.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.40 and its 200 day moving average is $22.55. The firm has a market cap of $615.10 million, a PE ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.53.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.56 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%.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Oil-Dri Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Company Profile

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.