The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Short Interest Up 14.6% in December

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,850,000 shares, an increase of 14.6% from the November 30th total of 3,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $162.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.33 and a 200 day moving average of $154.51. Clorox has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.85 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised 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 last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 99.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned 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 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.