Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Price Performance

ODC stock opened at $42.98 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.16. The stock has a market cap of $627.51 million, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.52. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a one year low of $29.47 and a one year high of $46.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last announced its earnings results 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.44%. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 20.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oil-Dri Co. of America news, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,942. The trade was a 35.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 70,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,026,529. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ODC. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Oil-Dri Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $606,000. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 37,041 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,555,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,009 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. 49.01% of the stock is 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.