Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $60.32 and last traded at $59.42, with a volume of 110643 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Oil-Dri Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Stock Down 1.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $850.74 million, a PE ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.20.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $115.50 million for the quarter.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Oil-Dri Co. of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Oil-Dri Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insider Activity at Oil-Dri Co. of America

In related news, Director Ellen-Blair Chube sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.51, for a total transaction of $148,785.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $502,468.20. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ODC. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 97.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 7,172 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 204.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,498 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 13,099 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 122.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 87,725 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 48,309 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Oil-Dri Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth about $362,000. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 100.5% in the 1st quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 561,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $25,784,000 after buying an additional 281,500 shares during the period. 49.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Company 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.