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

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 increased its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. WD-40 has a dividend payout ratio of 59.8% meaning 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC opened at $235.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.91 and a beta of -0.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $256.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.09. WD-40 has a one year low of $181.38 and a one year high of $278.78.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDFC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in WD-40 in the 4th quarter worth about $228,000. Advisor Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in WD-40 during the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Argent Trust Co bought a new position in WD-40 during the 1st quarter worth approximately $209,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 213.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 699 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.