Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

Oil-Dri Co. of America Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ODC opened at $42.85 on Thursday. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $29.47 and a fifty-two week high of $46.50. The firm has a market cap of $625.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.16. 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 results on Monday, December 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 21.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oil-Dri Co. of America

In related news, 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 value of $134,833.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 70,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,026,529. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the business’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 owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,942. This represents a 35.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.66% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ODC. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $571,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 13,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $228,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $522,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 132,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,605,000 after purchasing an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. 49.01% of the stock is currently 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.