The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Declares $1.22 Quarterly Dividend

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 17th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of 1.22 per share on Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd.

Clorox has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 47 consecutive years. Clorox has a payout ratio of 73.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Clorox to earn $6.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 69.9%.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $163.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $148.06 and its 200-day moving average is $143.56. Clorox has a 12-month low of $114.68 and a 12-month high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. Sell-side analysts predict that Clorox will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.