Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.58 and last traded at $46.51, with a volume of 16451 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.34. The company has a market capitalization of $692.75 million, a PE ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.52.

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

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total transaction of $87,738.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,942. This represents a 35.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $134,833.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 70,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,026,529. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.66% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 81.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 973.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,157 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 12.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $228,000. 49.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.