Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target Cut to $136.00

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Barclays from $148.00 to $136.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential downside of 6.08% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on CLX. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $162.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “sell” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.13.

Clorox Price Performance

Clorox stock opened at $144.80 on Wednesday. Clorox has a 52-week low of $114.68 and a 52-week high of $178.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $151.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.29. The firm has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a PE ratio of 229.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $1.08. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Clorox will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Clorox by 17,658.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,078,000 after acquiring an additional 481,725 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in Clorox during the third quarter worth about $6,605,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth about $2,940,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 742.8% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 78,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,316,000 after buying an additional 69,373 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.