Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $157.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $155.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.46.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $159.76 on Tuesday. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $164.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.33. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.67, a PEG 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Clorox will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in Clorox by 150.6% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,035,000 after acquiring an additional 960,094 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its holdings in Clorox by 512.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 13,547.0% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 424.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,390,000 after purchasing an additional 435,971 shares in the last quarter. 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.