WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.30 EPS

Key Points

• WD-40 reported earnings of $1.56 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.26 EPS by $0.30.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.9%, set to be paid on October 31st.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in WD-40, with major increases including a 476.2% boost by Jones Financial Companies.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.30, Zacks reports. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.23% and a net margin of 14.13%.

WD-40 Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDFC traded up $2.40 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $200.98. 244,297 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 144,115. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $207.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.02. WD-40 has a fifty-two week low of $187.40 and a fifty-two week high of $292.36.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. WD-40's payout ratio is 59.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WD-40

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 476.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 3,086 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 4.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,444 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 45.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 139.8% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 1,303.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,035 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on WD-40 from $322.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $300.00.

WD-40 Company Profile

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.

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