Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.93.

KMB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $131.64 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $117.67 and a 12 month high of $149.30. The firm has a market cap of $43.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $141.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 18.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 454,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,738,000 after acquiring an additional 69,794 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,409,000 after purchasing an additional 21,339 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,751,000. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 166,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,956,000 after purchasing an additional 6,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 84.6% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 25,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,583,000 after buying an additional 11,882 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company’s Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.