Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $45.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 34,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,911. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a one year low of $29.47 and a one year high of $49.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.18. The stock has a market cap of $669.06 million, a P/E ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.44.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $116.91 million during the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 9.92%.

Insider Activity at Oil-Dri Co. of America

In other news, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total value of $87,738.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,942. This represents a 35.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $134,833.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 70,796 shares in the company, valued at $3,026,529. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oil-Dri Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 81.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 5.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 112,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,834,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 3.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,009 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. 49.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Company Profile

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.