Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Short Interest Update

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,640,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the November 30th total of 5,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $104.71 on Thursday. Church & Dwight has a 52-week low of $93.32 and a 52-week high of $113.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.96, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $106.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 9.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Church & Dwight will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on Church & Dwight from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Church & Dwight in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,584.10. This trade represents a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total value of $874,783.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 400 shares in the company, valued at $44,976. This represents a 95.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 593,035 shares of company stock worth $62,282,808 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHD. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.