Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Raised to “Buy” 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 Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on CLX. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.38.

Clorox Stock Performance

Clorox stock opened at $161.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.31. 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 market cap of $19.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. Clorox has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current 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 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 dividend yield of 3.02%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Clorox by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Clorox in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 139.8% in the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 99.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

About Clorox

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.