Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,640,000 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the November 30th total of 5,990,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CHD. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Church & Dwight news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 165,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.03, for a total value of $17,084,743.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,613,438.57. This trade represents a 59.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,584.10. This represents a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 593,035 shares of company stock valued at $62,282,808 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Church & Dwight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CHD. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Church & Dwight stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $104.71. 814,550 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,395,382. The firm has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a PE ratio of 46.96, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.62. Church & Dwight has a 1 year low of $93.32 and a 1 year high of $113.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $106.61 and its 200 day moving average is $104.32.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.11. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 9.08%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Church & Dwight’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.67%.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.