The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $159.62.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

Clorox Trading Down 0.8 %

CLX stock opened at $143.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Clorox has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.59. The company has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.28, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Clorox by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 300.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Clorox

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.