Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $3.22 Million Stock Position in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in WD-40 Company by 36.1% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.10% of the company valued at $3.2 million.
• WD-40 reported quarterly earnings of $1.54 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.2%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with a current dividend yield of 1.7%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 36.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of WD-40 worth $3,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in WD-40 in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in WD-40 during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 210.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 96.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 149 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 420.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WD-40 Price Performance

WD-40 stock traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $218.50. 2,730 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,456. WD-40 Company has a 1-year low of $208.00 and a 1-year high of $292.36. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $230.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50 and a beta of 0.15. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $156.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.60 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 31.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson dropped their price objective 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.

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.