Short Interest in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Drops By 6.6%

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,520,000 shares, a drop of 6.6% from the May 15th total of 5,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE CHD opened at $107.70 on Monday. Church & Dwight has a one year low of $82.25 and a one year high of $108.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $105.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.11. The company has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.10. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 13.13%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHD has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Church & Dwight in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.19.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.67, for a total transaction of $2,153,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,485,092.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert K. Shearer sold 13,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.36, for a total value of $1,403,952.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,095,926.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 20,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.67, for a total transaction of $2,153,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,485,092.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,952 shares of company stock valued at $4,374,955. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Church & Dwight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHD. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.