Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $75.50 and last traded at $76.4620, with a volume of 1987 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ODC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 0.82.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul Hindsley sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.90, for a total transaction of $383,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,900. The trade was a 35.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen-Blair Chube sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.06, for a total value of $101,553.40. Following the sale, the director owned 8,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $652,425.80. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 11.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 87,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,304,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 4.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. 49.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

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.