WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Sees Large Volume Increase - Still a Buy?

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 220,619 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 101% from the previous session's volume of 109,916 shares.The stock last traded at $244.12 and had previously closed at $245.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson upgraded WD-40 to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

WD-40 Price Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $233.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.10 and a beta of 0.17.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The business had revenue of $146.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $154.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. WD-40's payout ratio is 59.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other WD-40 news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer acquired 256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $907,363.76. This represents a 6.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WD-40

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WDFC. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth $341,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in WD-40 in the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in WD-40 by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 6,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in WD-40 by 209.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in WD-40 in the fourth quarter valued at $3,217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

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.