Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $187.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $174.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.55% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.13.

Clorox Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE CLX opened at $164.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 85.33, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. Clorox has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $169.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $153.81 and a 200-day moving average of $144.29.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Scotia Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $466,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Clorox by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 202,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,808,000 after buying an additional 9,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $439,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.