WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.88

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.88 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th.

WD-40 has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 16 years. WD-40 has a dividend payout ratio of 59.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect WD-40 to earn $5.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.1%.

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of WDFC opened at $231.92 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $256.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.29 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.27. WD-40 has a fifty-two week low of $181.38 and a fifty-two week high of $278.78.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.01. WD-40 had a return on equity of 32.30% and a net margin of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $139.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at WD-40

In related news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman purchased 182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $272.42 per share, with a total value of $49,580.44. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 3,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $837,146.66. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other WD-40 news, Director David Pendarvis bought 328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $234.75 per share, with a total value of $76,998.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,256.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman bought 182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $272.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at $837,146.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 1,805.3% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 122.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 334 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $313.00 target price on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

About WD-40

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.