Bard Associates Inc. Purchases New Stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America $ODC

Key Points

• Bard Associates acquired 98,537 shares of Oil-Dri Corporation of America in the second quarter, worth approximately $10.1 million and representing about 0.68% of ODC’s outstanding shares.
• Institutional ownership reached 49.01%, with BlackRock, Diamond Hill, Bank of New York Mellon and Goldman Sachs among firms establishing or increasing positions. Analysts broadly maintain a “Buy” view.
• ODC reported quarterly EPS of $1.00 on $126.33 million in revenue and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.225 per share, or $0.90 annually; shares opened at $89.66, down 2.8%.

Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 98,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $10,071,000. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America comprises approximately 2.2% of Bard Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Bard Associates Inc. owned about 0.68% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,762,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America during the second quarter valued at $11,267,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America during the second quarter worth about $9,575,000. Needham Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 635,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $31,077,000 after acquiring an additional 61,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 122.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 87,725 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,028,000 after acquiring an additional 48,309 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ODC. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy".

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America stock opened at $89.66 on Friday. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $107.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.92 and a 200 day moving average of $79.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.40.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $126.33 million during the quarter. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 11.35%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's payout ratio is 23.14%.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Company Profile

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets sorbent and filtration products for industrial, environmental and consumer applications. Its flagship offerings include clay- and diatomaceous earth–based cat litters, calcium silicate absorbents for spill control and cleanup, and purification media designed to remove contaminants from petroleum, chemical and food-processing streams.

Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the company has evolved from a single-product operation into a diversified provider of mineral- and chemical-based solutions.

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