Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Upgraded 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 note issued to investors on Thursday.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of ODC stock opened at $42.98 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.33 and its 200 day moving average is $25.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $627.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.52. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a twelve month low of $29.47 and a twelve month high of $46.50.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.56 earnings per share 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.03%.

Insider Activity at Oil-Dri Co. of America

In related news, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total transaction of $87,738.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at $162,942. This represents a 35.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $134,833.50. Following the completion of 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 owned by insiders.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 973.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,157 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new position in Oil-Dri Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

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.