Empowered Funds LLC Invests $341,000 in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,407 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in WD-40 by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in WD-40 by 41.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its holdings in WD-40 by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 5,696 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WD-40 Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of WDFC traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $229.68. The company had a trading volume of 98,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,903. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.64. WD-40 has a 1-year low of $211.03 and a 1-year high of $292.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 44.00 and a beta of -0.05.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $153.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.40 million. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Research analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from WD-40's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $322.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

WD-40 Company Profile

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.