Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.46.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $159.76 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.33. The company has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.67, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Clorox has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, analysts predict that Clorox will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 170.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLX. Range Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Clorox by 223.1% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 3,433 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 9,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Clorox by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Clorox by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 521 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.