DA Davidson Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Stock Price

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at DA Davidson from $171.00 to $169.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective points to a potential upside of 14.54% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $139.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.21.

Clorox Price Performance

Clorox stock opened at $147.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.67. Clorox has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The company has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 51.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Clorox will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth $37,935,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of Clorox by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 43,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,047,000. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Clorox by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.