Bailard Inc. Takes Position in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,128,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 54.3% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 211,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,670,000 after purchasing an additional 74,315 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the 3rd quarter worth about $639,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 563.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,400,000 after buying an additional 126,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 669,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,345,000 after buying an additional 39,059 shares during the period. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edgewell Personal Care Trading Down 1.1 %

EPC opened at $30.67 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.88. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a 12 month low of $26.65 and a 12 month high of $41.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.89.

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

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EPC. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $53.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Edgewell Personal Care has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.57.

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.