WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Upgraded at Northcoast Research

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Northcoast Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. William Blair initiated coverage on WD-40 in a research note on Monday, April 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of WD-40 from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of WD-40 from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WD-40 presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $270.00.

WD-40 Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $246.06 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $213.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.85 and a beta of 0.30. WD-40 has a 12-month low of $175.38 and a 12-month high of $253.24.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 30.23%. The company had revenue of $161.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $154.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WD-40

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 549 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 3,050 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 4.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,317 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Company Profile

WD-40 Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, is best known for its flagship WD-40® Multi-Use Product, a water-displacing spray used for lubrication, rust prevention and cleaning. Since its introduction in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company, the WD-40 brand has become a household and industrial staple. Over time, the company has broadened its portfolio to include complementary maintenance and cleaning brands such as 3-IN-ONE® oils, Lava® hand cleaners, Solvol® solvents, Spot Shot® stain removers and X-14® cleaning products.

WD-40 Company distributes its products in more than 176 countries through retail, industrial and automotive channels.