The Clorox Company (CLX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.16 on May 13th

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 15th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 27th will be given a dividend of 1.16 per share on Friday, May 13th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 26th.

Clorox has raised its dividend by an average of 6.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 53 consecutive years. Clorox has a payout ratio of 83.5% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Analysts expect Clorox to earn $5.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 78.1%.

NYSE CLX opened at $150.65 on Friday. Clorox has a 52-week low of $127.02 and a 52-week high of $193.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a PE ratio of 75.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.23.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.12). Clorox had a return on equity of 86.36% and a net margin of 3.49%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Clorox will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating and set a $124.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Clorox from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $206.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $146.00 in a research report on Monday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 29th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $148.38.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its position in Clorox by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 18,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,257,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 5,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Company Profile (Get Rating)

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 brand names; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro, Clorox Healthcare, and Clorox Total 360 brand names; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand name; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brand names in the United States.

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