WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $288.57 and last traded at $285.46, with a volume of 7816 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $274.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WDFC. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of WD-40 from $303.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

WD-40 Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $259.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $244.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.62 and a beta of -0.08.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.20 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 31.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other WD-40 news, Director William B. Noble sold 800 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.98, for a total transaction of $205,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,312,563.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WD-40

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in WD-40 in the first quarter valued at $20,491,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in WD-40 by 80.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 69,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,298,000 after purchasing an additional 31,055 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in WD-40 during the first quarter worth approximately $4,180,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in WD-40 by 83.6% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 26,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,642,000 after purchasing an additional 11,939 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,960,000. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.