Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Equal Weight Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $157.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $155.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on CLX. Barclays increased their price target on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.46.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $159.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.33. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. Clorox’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 170.03%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the third quarter valued at $54,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,121,000 after acquiring an additional 22,676 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 191,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,266,000 after acquiring an additional 10,149 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 60.5% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 23,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 1.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 353,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,228,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is 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.