Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Short Interest Update

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,170,000 shares, an increase of 21.6% from the December 15th total of 4,250,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $39,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $127.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,056,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,918,629. Kimberly-Clark has a 1-year low of $117.67 and a 1-year high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $132.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.98.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company’s Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.