Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target Raised to $161.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $157.00 to $161.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.21.

Clorox Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CLX opened at $147.55 on Tuesday. Clorox has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.83 and a 200 day moving average of $158.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Clorox by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 300.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.