The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $159.62.

Several research firms recently weighed in on CLX. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

Clorox Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $144.88 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $152.84 and its 200-day moving average is $159.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. Clorox has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Clorox will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Clorox by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 6,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.