Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $169.21 and last traded at $169.10, with a volume of 954172 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $167.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CLX shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

Clorox Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $162.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.94. The stock has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. Clorox’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 139.8% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 300.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 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.