Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.57.

Several research firms recently weighed in on EPC. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $53.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EPC opened at $31.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.00. Edgewell Personal Care has a 52 week low of $26.65 and a 52 week high of $41.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Edgewell Personal Care’s payout ratio is 32.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EPC. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 25,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 5,667 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care during the 3rd quarter worth $559,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 251,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,137,000 after acquiring an additional 7,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 211,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,670,000 after acquiring an additional 74,315 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.91% of the company’s stock.

About Edgewell Personal Care

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.