Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $70.00 and last traded at $69.3750, with a volume of 38312 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ODC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Trading Up 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.09.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The firm had revenue of $120.49 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s payout ratio is 22.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ODC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 57.4% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 502 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,013 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 20.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America during the third quarter worth about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Company Profile

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets sorbent and filtration products for industrial, environmental and consumer applications. Its flagship offerings include clay- and diatomaceous earth–based cat litters, calcium silicate absorbents for spill control and cleanup, and purification media designed to remove contaminants from petroleum, chemical and food-processing streams.

Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the company has evolved from a single-product operation into a diversified provider of mineral- and chemical-based solutions.