Barnett & Company Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America $ODC

Key Points

• Barnett & Company Inc. boosted its Oil-Dri Corporation of America stake by 116.5% in the first quarter, buying 14,450 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 26,850 shares worth about $1.75 million.
• Other institutions also increased positions in ODC, and roughly 49.01% of the stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of “Buy”.
• Oil-Dri reported solid recent results and raised its dividend: quarterly EPS was $1.00 on revenue of $126.33 million, and the company lifted its payout to $0.225 per share from $0.20.

Barnett & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Free Report) by 116.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,850 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,450 shares during the quarter. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America makes up about 1.4% of Barnett & Company Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Barnett & Company Inc. owned about 0.19% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America worth $1,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ODC. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 20.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 57.4% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 502 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 87,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,304,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. 49.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ODC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Insider Activity at Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

In other news, Director Ellen-Blair Chube sold 1,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.06, for a total transaction of $101,553.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,930 shares in the company, valued at $652,425.80. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.69% of the company's stock.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ODC opened at $104.88 on Friday. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $106.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.94. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 3.28.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $126.33 million for 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.08%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.