Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Clorox from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $151.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, Atlantic Securities upgraded shares of Clorox from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $150.38.

Clorox Stock Down 0.4 %

CLX stock opened at $156.45 on Thursday. Clorox has a 52 week low of $124.58 and a 52 week high of $178.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The company has a market cap of $19.37 billion, a PE ratio of 131.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.29.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 2.02% and a return on equity of 163.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 8th. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 403.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other news, CFO Kevin B. Jacobsen sold 3,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.82, for a total transaction of $538,103.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,224 shares in the company, valued at $3,734,883.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Clorox in the second quarter worth $573,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 110.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 24,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after buying an additional 13,026 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its position in Clorox by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 2.5% in the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 367,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,402,000 after acquiring an additional 8,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 74.8% in the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.98% 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.