WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Up 9.7% - Still a Buy?

WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 9.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $234.31 and last traded at $253.85. Approximately 124,574 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 144,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $231.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

WD-40 Stock Up 9.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.46 and a beta of 0.14.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.55% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $146.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. WD-40's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other WD-40 news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer purchased 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $907,363.76. This trade represents a 6.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDFC. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 1,767.7% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 448,180 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $109,356,000 after purchasing an additional 424,183 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth $54,571,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 28,448.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 114,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,863,000 after purchasing an additional 113,792 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 206.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 158,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $38,381,000 after purchasing an additional 106,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the first quarter worth $23,556,000. 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.