Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) Short Interest Up 85.0% in January

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 144,300 shares, a growth of 85.0% from the December 31st total of 78,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 41,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Price Performance

ODC stock opened at $42.13 on Friday. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a 52-week low of $29.47 and a 52-week high of $46.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.55. The stock has a market cap of $615.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last issued 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%.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.03%.

Insider Transactions at Oil-Dri Co. of America

In other news, 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 transaction of $87,738.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,942. The trade was a 35.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $134,833.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 70,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,026,529. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oil-Dri Co. of America

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 50.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 21,933 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 7,364 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,006 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 81.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,009 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

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.