The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Short Interest Update

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,360,000 shares, a decrease of 10.6% from the November 15th total of 3,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $163.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,095,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,642. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a PE ratio of 56.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.34. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 170.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Insight Folios Inc increased its position in Clorox by 3.0% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC increased its position in Clorox by 0.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Clorox by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Clorox by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Clorox by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.