WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Given Buy Rating at DA Davidson

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at DA Davidson in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $313.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. DA Davidson’s price target points to a potential upside of 39.44% from the company’s previous close.

WD-40 Price Performance

NASDAQ WDFC opened at $224.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 44.80 and a beta of -0.07. WD-40 has a 12-month low of $182.53 and a 12-month high of $278.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $229.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.23.

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

Insider Activity at WD-40

In related news, CEO Steven A. Brass bought 432 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares in the company, valued at $4,771,424.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Steven A. Brass bought 432 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,771,424.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Pendarvis bought 328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $234.75 per share, with a total value of $76,998.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,934 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,256.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 973 shares of company stock valued at $226,910. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WD-40

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in WD-40 during the first quarter worth $34,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in WD-40 during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in WD-40 by 57.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

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.