UBS Group Cuts Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target to $154.00

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $176.00 to $154.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

CLX has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.83.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $139.60 on Thursday. Clorox has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Clorox will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLX. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Clorox by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Clorox

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.