Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.38.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $163.00 on Friday. Clorox has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $164.24 and its 200-day moving average is $153.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 46,877.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490,421 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 150.6% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,035,000 after buying an additional 960,094 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 512.7% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,315,000 after acquiring an additional 453,624 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 13,547.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 440,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,063,000 after acquiring an additional 436,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Clorox by 424.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,390,000 after acquiring an additional 435,971 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.