WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC – Get Free Report) and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares WD-40 and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| WD-40 | 11.97% | 30.84% | 17.36% |
| Oil-Dri Corporation Of America | 11.54% | 20.31% | 14.19% |
Dividends
WD-40 pays an annual dividend of $4.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. WD-40 pays out 67.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America pays out 22.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. WD-40 has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. WD-40 is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| WD-40 | $687.99 million | 4.29 | $82.35 million | $6.08 | 36.28 |
| Oil-Dri Corporation Of America | $493.84 million | 2.09 | $56.97 million | $4.00 | 17.81 |
WD-40 has higher revenue and earnings than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WD-40, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
WD-40 has a beta of 0.27, indicating that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
91.5% of WD-40 shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of WD-40 shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for WD-40 and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| WD-40 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2.67 |
| Oil-Dri Corporation Of America | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
WD-40 currently has a consensus price target of $305.00, suggesting a potential upside of 38.25%. Given WD-40’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe WD-40 is more favorable than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America.
Summary
WD-40 beats Oil-Dri Corporation Of America on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. It also offers multi-purpose and specialty drip oils, and spray lubricant products, as well as other specialty maintenance products under the 3-IN-ONE brand name; and professional spray maintenance products and lubricants for the bike maintenance market under the GT85 brand name. In addition, the company provides automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the 2000 Flushes brand name; aerosol and liquid trigger carpet stain and odor eliminators under the Spot Shot brand; room and rug deodorizers under the Carpet Fresh brand name; carpet and household cleaners, and rug and room deodorizers under the 1001 brand; heavy-duty hand cleaner products under the Lava brand name in the United States, as well as under the Solvol brand name in Australia; and automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the X-14 brand name. It sells its products primarily through warehouse club stores, hardware stores, automotive parts outlets, industrial distributors and suppliers, mass retail and home center stores, value retailers, grocery stores, online retailers, farm supply, sport retailers, and independent bike dealers. WD-40 Company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
About Oil-Dri Corporation 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. The Business to Business Products Group segment’s customers include processors and refiners of edible oils, jet fuel and biofuel, manufacturers of animal feed and agricultural chemicals, distributors of animal health and nutrition products, and marketers of consumer products. The Retail and Wholesale Products Group segment customers include retailers of cat litter and related accessories such as mass merchandisers, drugstore chains, pet specialty retail outlets, dollar stores, retail grocery stores as well as distributors of industrial cleanup and automotive products, environmental service companies, and sports field product users. The company was founded by Nick Jaffee in 1941 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.
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