Wall Street Zen Upgrades Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) to “Strong-Buy”

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:ODC opened at $56.29 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.63. The company has a market capitalization of $821.48 million, a PE ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 0.62. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a 52 week low of $29.47 and a 52 week high of $60.32.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $115.50 million during the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 21.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ellen-Blair Chube sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.51, for a total transaction of $148,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $502,468.20. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oil-Dri Co. of America

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ODC. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 99.3% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 799,112 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,695,000 after purchasing an additional 398,056 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 119.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 612,195 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,112,000 after buying an additional 333,053 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 100.5% in the 1st quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 561,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,784,000 after buying an additional 281,500 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 331,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,203,000 after buying an additional 184,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 102.4% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 336,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,429,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares in the last quarter. 49.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Oil-Dri Co. 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.