The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $156.07.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on Clorox from $139.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Clorox from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX opened at $158.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Clorox has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $162.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.03. The stock has a market cap of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 46,877.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490,421 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 512.7% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,315,000 after acquiring an additional 453,624 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 424.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,390,000 after buying an additional 435,971 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 5,442.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 273,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,622,000 after purchasing an additional 268,966 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,390,000 after acquiring an additional 265,455 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.