The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives $159.62 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $159.62.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. StockNews.com cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Clorox Stock Down 0.3 %

Clorox stock opened at $144.88 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. Clorox has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company has a market cap of $17.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Clorox by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.