Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,950,000 shares, a decline of 7.7% from the October 31st total of 4,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $139.56. 2,397,068 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,108,461. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. Kimberly-Clark has a 52-week low of $117.67 and a 52-week high of $149.30. The company has a market cap of $46.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.33.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

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.