Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.25.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

NYSE:EPC opened at $40.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 0.84. Edgewell Personal Care has a 52 week low of $33.71 and a 52 week high of $42.15.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.14. Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 5.40%. The firm had revenue of $599.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Edgewell Personal Care will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Comerica Bank grew its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 23.7% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 5,709 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the first quarter valued at approximately $608,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 4.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 36,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the first quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 11.2% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 83,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after buying an additional 8,468 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.91% of the company’s stock.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.