Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Stock Price

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price target decreased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $155.00 to $145.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.86% from the company’s previous close.

CLX has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $139.00 to $134.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.25.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE CLX traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $139.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 66,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,600. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Clorox has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its 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 net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Clorox will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $259,041,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 75.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,361,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,163,000 after acquiring an additional 585,526 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Clorox by 549.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 542,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,144,000 after purchasing an additional 459,203 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Clorox by 187.9% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 698,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,508,000 after purchasing an additional 456,114 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Clorox by 154.6% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 570,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,655,000 after purchasing an additional 346,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.