Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Earns “Neutral” Rating from DA Davidson

DA Davidson reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $162.00 price target on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from an underperform rating to a hold rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $148.63.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $143.58 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37. The firm has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a PE ratio of 227.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.43. Clorox has a 52 week low of $114.68 and a 52 week high of $178.21.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Clorox’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Clorox will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 761.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 17,658.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,078,000 after buying an additional 481,725 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,605,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,940,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Clorox by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 742.8% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 78,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,316,000 after buying an additional 69,373 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.