The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and twelve have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $148.63.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CLX. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CLX. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 308.5% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $146.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 232.51, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37. Clorox has a 12-month low of $114.68 and a 12-month high of $178.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.47.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $1.08. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Clorox will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 761.92%.

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.