Bayforest Capital Ltd Takes $491,000 Position in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd invested approximately $491,000 in 2,011 shares of WD-40 Company during the first quarter of the year.
• WD-40's latest quarterly earnings showed an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.54, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.40, with a net margin of 14.13%.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94, which translates to an annualized yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 59.21%.

Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $491,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in WD-40 by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 568,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $138,666,000 after buying an additional 4,672 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 1,767.7% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 448,180 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $109,356,000 after purchasing an additional 424,183 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 248,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,560,000 after purchasing an additional 39,137 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 162,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $39,572,000 after purchasing an additional 89,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 206.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 158,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,381,000 after purchasing an additional 106,617 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of WD-40 from $322.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WD-40 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $290.00.

WD-40 Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDFC traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $208.85. The company had a trading volume of 94,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,440. WD-40 Company has a 52-week low of $208.00 and a 52-week high of $292.36. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $218.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.89 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. WD-40 had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 31.23%. The company had revenue of $156.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. WD-40's dividend payout ratio is 59.21%.

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.