The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,760,000 shares, an increase of 18.6% from the October 31st total of 3,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.00.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLX. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Clorox by 139.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Clorox by 99.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX opened at $167.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.25, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $163.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.39. Clorox has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.35.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Clorox will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.04%.

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.