Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Trading Down 2.2%

Oil-Dri Co. of America stock opened at $56.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.88 and a 200-day moving average of $42.14. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a one year low of $29.47 and a one year high of $60.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $821.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 0.62.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 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 $115.50 million for the quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ellen-Blair Chube sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.51, for a total value of $148,785.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $502,468.20. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oil-Dri Co. of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 97.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 7,172 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 204.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,498 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 13,099 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 122.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 87,725 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after acquiring an additional 48,309 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America during the 1st quarter valued at $362,000. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 100.5% during the first quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 561,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,784,000 after purchasing an additional 281,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

About Oil-Dri Co. of America

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.