Northcoast Research Upgrades WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) to Strong-Buy

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) was upgraded by equities researchers at Northcoast Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of WD-40 from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of WD-40 from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Monday, April 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WD-40 currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $270.00.

WD-40 Stock Up 0.8%

WDFC opened at $246.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.85 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.75. WD-40 has a 52 week low of $175.38 and a 52 week high of $253.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $161.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.90 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 30.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WD-40

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDFC. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,291,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 739.8% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 165,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,525,000 after purchasing an additional 145,517 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 41.9% during 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. GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd now owns 221,225 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,559,000 after purchasing an additional 104,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the third quarter valued at $13,817,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

About WD-40

WD-40 Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, is best known for its flagship WD-40® Multi-Use Product, a water-displacing spray used for lubrication, rust prevention and cleaning. Since its introduction in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company, the WD-40 brand has become a household and industrial staple. Over time, the company has broadened its portfolio to include complementary maintenance and cleaning brands such as 3-IN-ONE® oils, Lava® hand cleaners, Solvol® solvents, Spot Shot® stain removers and X-14® cleaning products.

WD-40 Company distributes its products in more than 176 countries through retail, industrial and automotive channels.