Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stock Holdings in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in WD‑40 by 41.6% in Q4 to 32,379 shares (about $6.38M), and institutional investors now own roughly 91.52% of the company.
• WD‑40 beat Q2 estimates with EPS of $1.50 versus $1.39 and revenue of $161.7M (up 10.7% year‑over‑year), reporting a 30.2% return on equity and a 12.6% net margin.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 (annualized $4.08, ~1.8% yield), and the stock carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $270 price target while insiders have recently increased holdings.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,379 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,517 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.24% of WD-40 worth $6,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 3.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 6.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 953 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 4.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,317 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 1.8% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 7.1% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $224.96 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $223.03 and a 200 day moving average of $210.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26 and a beta of 0.25. WD-40 Company has a 1-year low of $175.38 and a 1-year high of $253.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $161.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.90 million. WD-40 had a return on equity of 30.23% and a net margin of 12.57%.WD-40's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WD-40 Company will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. WD-40's payout ratio is presently 69.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Pendarvis bought 424 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $247.15 per share, for a total transaction of $104,791.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,704,840.70. This represents a 6.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their price objective on WD-40 from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of WD-40 in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, William Blair began coverage on WD-40 in a report on Monday, April 6th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.00.

About WD-40

WD-40 Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, is best known for its flagship WD-40® Multi-Use Product, a water-displacing spray used for lubrication, rust prevention and cleaning. Since its introduction in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company, the WD-40 brand has become a household and industrial staple. Over time, the company has broadened its portfolio to include complementary maintenance and cleaning brands such as 3-IN-ONE® oils, Lava® hand cleaners, Solvol® solvents, Spot Shot® stain removers and X-14® cleaning products.

WD-40 Company distributes its products in more than 176 countries through retail, industrial and automotive channels.

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