The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $156.54.

CLX has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Clorox from $139.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $159.12 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.66 and its 200-day moving average is $157.50. Clorox has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. Clorox’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 99.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.