Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CLX. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.38.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $164.44 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The company has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a PE ratio of 57.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.16 and a 200-day moving average of $152.71. Clorox has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Clorox by 6.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,641,000 after acquiring an additional 9,720 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 17,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Clorox by 10.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 135,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,840,000 after purchasing an additional 12,776 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 1.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,873,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Clorox by 12.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. 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.