Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $30.88, but opened at $32.23. Edgewell Personal Care shares last traded at $31.76, with a volume of 159,646 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.57.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Up 4.7 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.06). Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 4.09%. On average, equities analysts expect that Edgewell Personal Care Co will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Edgewell Personal Care’s payout ratio is 32.79%.

Institutional Trading of Edgewell Personal Care

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 85.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 19,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.