WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $219.19 and traded as high as $219.66. WD-40 shares last traded at $219.41, with a volume of 112,366 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WDFC. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of WD-40 from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of WD-40 from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on WD-40 from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.00.

WD-40 Stock Up 0.5%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $204.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.33. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.57.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $176.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.07 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 30.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that WD-40 Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Monday, October 19th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 19th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is 67.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patricia Olsem sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.72, for a total transaction of $46,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,073,609.28. This trade represents a 4.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WD-40

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in WD-40 during the 2nd quarter valued at about $505,734,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 41.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 411,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $83,883,000 after purchasing an additional 121,358 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the second quarter worth about $29,162,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the second quarter worth about $9,155,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the second quarter worth about $8,572,000. 91.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WD-40

WD-40 Company develops and markets maintenance, cleaning and homecare products for consumers, professional tradespeople and industrial users. Its best-known product is WD-40 Multi-Use Product, a spray designed to displace moisture, protect metal, loosen rusted parts and lubricate equipment. The company also offers WD-40 Specialist products for specific maintenance applications and the 3-IN-ONE line of lubricants.

The company’s homecare and cleaning portfolio has included brands such as X-14, 2000 Flushes and Carpet Fresh.