Short Interest in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) Expands By 74.0%

Key Points

• Short interest in Oil-Dri increased 74% to 654,754 shares as of August 14, representing about 5.1% of shares outstanding and 3.6 days of average trading volume.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 49.01% of ODC, with several firms recently initiating or expanding positions.
• ODC shares fell 1.7% to $90.17, while analysts maintained a consensus “Buy” rating. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.225 per share, or $0.90 annually.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 654,754 shares, a growth of 74.0% from the July 30th total of 376,348 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 180,285 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 5.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ODC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 57.4% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 502 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 49.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of ODC traded down $1.52 on Monday, hitting $90.17. 15,799 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 89,666. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $107.00. The stock's 50 day moving average is $96.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $126.33 million during the quarter. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 11.35%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's payout ratio is 23.14%.

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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