WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $288.76 and last traded at $288.76, with a volume of 15593 shares. The stock had previously closed at $285.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WDFC. DA Davidson increased their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on shares of WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

WD-40 Stock Up 1.5 %

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 cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 56.51 and a beta of -0.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $261.24 and its 200-day moving average is $245.88.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.11). The firm 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%. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.98, for a total value of $205,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,999 shares in the company, valued at $2,312,563.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WD-40

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in WD-40 during the first quarter worth $20,491,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in WD-40 by 80.5% during 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 last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in WD-40 during the 1st quarter worth about $4,180,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 83.6% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 26,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,642,000 after acquiring an additional 11,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in WD-40 during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,960,000. 91.52% of the stock is currently 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.