UBS Group Lowers Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target to $159.00

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price target reduced by UBS Group from $164.00 to $159.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

CLX has been the subject of a number of other reports. DA Davidson restated a neutral rating and set a $162.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from an underperform rating to a hold rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $138.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Clorox has a one year low of $114.68 and a one year high of $176.24. The company has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.44.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 302.49% and a net margin of 3.33%. Clorox’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 248.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 321,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,099,000 after purchasing an additional 33,044 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 29,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Clorox by 20.0% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Clorox by 8.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 306,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,185,000 after buying an additional 22,597 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.