Trexquant Investment LP Buys New Stake in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired a new position in WD-40 Company, purchasing 4,379 shares valued at approximately $1.07 million.
• WD-40 reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.54 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $1.40, with a revenue of $156.92 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, which represents an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%.

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,379 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,068,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,672 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 18.7% in the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 248,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,560,000 after buying an additional 39,137 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 122.0% in 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. Millennium Management LLC lifted 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 worth $38,381,000 after buying an additional 106,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 28,448.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 114,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,863,000 after buying an additional 113,792 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WD-40 Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:WDFC traded down $1.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $215.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 66,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,941. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.74. WD-40 Company has a 1 year low of $208.00 and a 1 year high of $292.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89 and a beta of 0.13. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $156.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of WD-40 from $322.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WD-40 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.00.

About WD-40

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.