Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.38.

Clorox Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE CLX opened at $161.42 on Friday. Clorox has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.98 billion, a PE ratio of 56.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $164.26 and its 200 day moving average is $154.31.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 4.2% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Clorox by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 5,358 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.