The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $150.14.

A number of research firms have recently commented on CLX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $161.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $159.28 and its 200-day moving average is $145.18. Clorox has a 12-month low of $114.68 and a 12-month high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. Sell-side analysts predict that Clorox will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 252.85%.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,600,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Clorox by 2.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.2% during the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 17.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States.