The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives $145.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $144.67.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CLX. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $162.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLX. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 2,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:CLX opened at $136.40 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.20. Clorox has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $169.14. The company has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.67, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.39.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.38. Clorox had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 302.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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.