Guidance Capital Inc. Makes New $464,000 Investment in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Guidance Capital Inc. bought a new position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,992 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $464,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in WD-40 during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 41.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 28.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 393 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in WD-40 by 28.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC traded down $3.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $237.04. The company had a trading volume of 74,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,522. WD-40 has a 12-month low of $211.03 and a 12-month high of $292.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $246.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.73. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.41 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $153.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $147.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from WD-40's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. WD-40's payout ratio is currently 72.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total value of $289,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,999 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,310.30. The trade was a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on WDFC shares. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $322.00 target price on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

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.