Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading 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

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.57.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Performance

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

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

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 85.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Edgewell Personal Care during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 217.4% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 805.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares in the last quarter. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edgewell Personal Care Company Profile

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.