WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Trading 5.8% Higher After Dividend Announcement

WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) shares traded up 5.8% on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $202.00 and last traded at $204.40. 28,154 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 139,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.18.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This is an increase from WD-40’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is 56.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on WD-40 in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WD-40 in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $300.00.

WD-40 Stock Up 5.2%

The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.72. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42 and a beta of 0.16.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $163.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.90 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. WD-40 has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.750-6.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eric Etchart purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.02 per share, with a total value of $97,010.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,623,947.40. The trade was a 6.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven A. Brass purchased 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $200.46 per share, with a total value of $72,566.52. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 33,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,767,730.06. This trade represents a 1.08% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 2,640 shares of company stock worth $522,765 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WD-40

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in WD-40 by 6.2% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 953 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in WD-40 by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,317 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in WD-40 by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its position in WD-40 by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.