Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Raised to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $157.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $155.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CLX. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays increased their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.46.

Clorox Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CLX opened at $160.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Clorox has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 56.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $164.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.41.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Clorox’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Insight Folios Inc lifted its stake in Clorox by 3.0% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. grew its position in Clorox by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Clorox by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.