Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $170.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $155.00.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.00.

Clorox Stock Up 1.5 %

Clorox stock opened at $165.16 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.14 and a 200-day moving average of $146.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a PE ratio of 57.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.41. Clorox has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1,525.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,046,000 after purchasing an additional 61,576 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 93.7% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 72,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,032,000 after acquiring an additional 34,864 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 141,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,705,000 after acquiring an additional 18,687 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 257.5% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 8,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Company Profile

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.