WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Short Interest Update

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 992,200 shares, a decline of 15.9% from the December 31st total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 101,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.8 days. Approximately 7.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total value of $289,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,310.30. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WD-40

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,966 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in WD-40 by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,209 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in WD-40 by 76.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 4,513 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in WD-40 by 80.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 69,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,298,000 after buying an additional 31,055 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of WD-40 by 3.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Stock Up 0.5 %

WDFC stock opened at $234.95 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $250.50 and its 200 day moving average is $257.21. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.01 and a beta of -0.04. WD-40 has a 1-year low of $211.03 and a 1-year high of $292.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $153.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $147.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from WD-40’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WDFC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $322.00 price objective on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

WD-40 Company Profile

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.