WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in WD-40 fell 14.3% to 642,961 shares as of April 15, representing 4.8% of the company's stock sold short and a days-to-cover ratio of 2.7.
• WD-40 beat Q2 estimates, reporting $1.50 EPS vs. $1.39 expected and revenue of $161.67 million, up 10.7% year‑over‑year.
• The Street has a consensus Moderate Buy on WDFC with an average price target of $270 (two Buy ratings and one Hold).

WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 642,961 shares, a decrease of 14.3% from the March 31st total of 750,000 shares. Currently, 4.8% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 242,625 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on WD-40 from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Monday, April 6th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.00.

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of WDFC opened at $209.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 0.25. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $220.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.83. WD-40 has a twelve month low of $175.38 and a twelve month high of $253.24.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $161.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $154.90 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 30.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Pendarvis purchased 424 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $247.15 per share, with a total value of $104,791.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,704,840.70. This trade represents a 6.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WD-40

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in WD-40 during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,291,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in WD-40 by 739.8% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 165,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,525,000 after purchasing an additional 145,517 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in WD-40 by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 289,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $57,092,000 after purchasing an additional 111,559 shares during the last quarter. GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd grew its holdings in WD-40 by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd now owns 221,225 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $43,559,000 after purchasing an additional 104,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in WD-40 during the third quarter valued at approximately $13,817,000. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Company Profile

WD-40 Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, is best known for its flagship WD-40® Multi-Use Product, a water-displacing spray used for lubrication, rust prevention and cleaning. Since its introduction in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company, the WD-40 brand has become a household and industrial staple. Over time, the company has broadened its portfolio to include complementary maintenance and cleaning brands such as 3-IN-ONE® oils, Lava® hand cleaners, Solvol® solvents, Spot Shot® stain removers and X-14® cleaning products.

WD-40 Company distributes its products in more than 176 countries through retail, industrial and automotive channels.

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