StockNews.com Upgrades Clorox (NYSE:CLX) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

CLX has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.38.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $163.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.79, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. Clorox has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 170.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Clorox in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 139.8% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 300.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Clorox by 99.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 114 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.