Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB – Get Rating) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $128.00.

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. They set a “sell” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $137.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.2 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $122.34 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark has a fifty-two week low of $108.74 and a fifty-two week high of $144.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.83, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.82. The company has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.39.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.03. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.59% and a return on equity of 264.67%. The company had revenue of $4.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.18 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $4.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 81.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth about $96,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,483,000 after buying an additional 34,646 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 292,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,066,000 after buying an additional 7,878 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,485,000 after buying an additional 4,503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.16% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

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Kimberly-Clark Corp. engages in the manufacture and marketing of products made from natural or synthetic fibers. It operates through the following segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swim pants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, and other related products.