Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: Shares hit a new 52-week high intraday at $73.46 and last traded around $72.22 on volume of ~69,056 shares.
• Analyst sentiment: MarketBeat shows a consensus Buy rating and Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" on March 27th.
• Dividend announced: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share (annualized $0.82, yield ~1.1%) with an ex-dividend date of May 8 and payment on May 22.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $73.46 and last traded at $72.2160, with a volume of 69056 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Oil-Dri Corporation Of America presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Stock Down 0.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's fifty day moving average is $65.12 and its 200-day moving average is $58.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.40.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

In other Oil-Dri Corporation Of America news, Director Paul Hindsley sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.90, for a total transaction of $383,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,900. This represents a 35.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.69% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ODC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 57.4% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 502 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 20.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in the third quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 361.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.01% of the company's stock.

About Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets sorbent and filtration products for industrial, environmental and consumer applications. Its flagship offerings include clay- and diatomaceous earth–based cat litters, calcium silicate absorbents for spill control and cleanup, and purification media designed to remove contaminants from petroleum, chemical and food-processing streams.

Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the company has evolved from a single-product operation into a diversified provider of mineral- and chemical-based solutions.

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