Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Hits New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $50.00 and last traded at $47.25, with a volume of 1037 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.59.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Oil-Dri Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $694.50 million, a P/E ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.18.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $116.91 million for the quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oil-Dri Co. of America news, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $134,833.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 70,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,026,529. The trade was a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total value of $87,738.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,942. The trade was a 35.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oil-Dri Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $571,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 13,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $522,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 132,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,605,000 after buying an additional 7,606 shares during the period. 49.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Company Profile

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a manufacturer and supplier of specialty sorbent products for the pet care, animal health and nutrition, fluids purification, agricultural ingredients, sports field, industrial and automotive markets. It operates through the Business to Business Products Group and Retail and Wholesale Products Group segments.