Barclays Cuts Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target to $130.00

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price target reduced by Barclays from $139.00 to $130.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Clorox from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.54.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $160.31 on Friday. Clorox has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.54.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Clorox’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Clorox by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 4,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $692,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 109,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,747,000 after buying an additional 7,983 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 489.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 115,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,718,000 after buying an additional 95,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eads & Heald Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 8,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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.