Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CLX. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.38.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $164.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.16 and a 200-day moving average of $152.71. Clorox has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a PE ratio of 57.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued 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 2.97%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Clorox by 14.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 28,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,928,000 after buying an additional 2,634 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth $340,000. Slow Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Clorox by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 18,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,486,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Clorox by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.