Zacks: Brokerages Expect The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) to Post $0.98 Earnings Per Share

Analysts expect that The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX – Get Rating) will announce $0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Four analysts have made estimates for Clorox’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $0.95 to $1.07. Clorox posted earnings per share of $0.95 in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 3.2%. The business is expected to report its next earnings results on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Clorox will report full year earnings of $4.16 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.12 to $4.25. For the next year, analysts forecast that the company will post earnings of $5.57 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.98 to $6.10. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that follow Clorox.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. Clorox had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 92.98%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $123.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $146.00 in a research report on Monday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $154.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating and set a $124.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $141.21.

In other news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.83, for a total transaction of $90,575.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,676,855.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace North America L.P. bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the first quarter valued at $65,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 4.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,431,000 after buying an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Clorox by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 23,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC now owns 31,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706 shares during the last quarter. 77.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox stock opened at $141.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28. Clorox has a 1 year low of $127.02 and a 1 year high of $191.75. The company has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $144.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.40.

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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