Gabelli Funds LLC Raises Stock Position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America $ODC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC has increased its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation of America by 99.5%, now owning approximately 1.13% of the company, valued at $7.59 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.18, up from $0.16, which corresponds to a 1.2% yield.
• Oil-Dri's stock has shown substantial growth with a 52-week high of $63.82 and a market cap of $856.48 million.

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Free Report) by 99.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 82,400 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 1.13% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America worth $7,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ODC. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 600 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 98.0% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 891 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 9,083.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 2,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ellen-Blair Chube sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.83, for a total transaction of $139,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $520,335.60. This trade represents a 21.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy Ryan sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $60,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $175,798. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $354,570 in the last ninety days. 11.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ODC stock traded up $0.21 on Friday, hitting $59.32. The stock had a trading volume of 34,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,920. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.91 and a 200 day moving average of $50.97. The stock has a market cap of $868.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.85. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a 12-month low of $32.06 and a 12-month high of $63.82.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $115.50 million during the quarter.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's payout ratio is 21.18%.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America 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.