The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $155.38.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CLX. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CLX. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the second quarter worth about $52,000. Summit Financial LLC grew its position in Clorox by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Clorox by 36.3% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 58,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,002,000 after purchasing an additional 15,620 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the second quarter valued at $731,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 1.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 277,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,846,000 after buying an additional 3,992 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $157.74 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $164.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.17. Clorox has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.03%.

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.