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

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

Oil-Dri Co. of America Price Performance

ODC traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $42.98. The company had a trading volume of 18,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,816. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a twelve month low of $29.47 and a twelve month high of $46.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.16. The company has a market capitalization of $627.51 million, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.63.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 9.92%.

Insider Transactions at Oil-Dri Co. of America

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ODC. FMR LLC raised 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 12.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 973.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,157 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 1,956 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth about $222,000. 49.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.