Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,110,000 shares, a growth of 13.3% from the May 31st total of 4,510,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $137.52. 736,892 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,148,150. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. Kimberly-Clark has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $142.20. The company has a market cap of $46.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $136.08 and its 200 day moving average is $127.81.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total transaction of $524,431.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total value of $524,431.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.64.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.