Nuveen LLC Makes New Investment in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a stake of 38,657 shares in WD-40 Company, valued at approximately $9.43 million, representing a 0.29% ownership of the company.
• WD-40 Company exceeded earnings expectations with a reported $1.54 EPS for the last quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40.
• The company's dividend yield stands at 1.7%, with a recent quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share announced for distribution in July.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 38,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $9,432,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.29% of WD-40 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the first quarter worth about $508,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in WD-40 by 255.6% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 3,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in WD-40 by 122.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 162,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $39,572,000 after purchasing an additional 89,120 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in WD-40 by 49.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 306 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in WD-40 by 18.7% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 248,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,560,000 after purchasing an additional 39,137 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

WD-40 Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WD-40 stock traded down $2.65 on Thursday, reaching $218.81. The company had a trading volume of 23,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,624. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $223.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.69. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48 and a beta of 0.15. WD-40 Company has a 52-week low of $208.00 and a 52-week high of $292.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.84.

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

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. WD-40's payout ratio is 59.21%.

WD-40 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.