The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $158.21.

Several brokerages recently commented on CLX. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $154.57 on Friday. Clorox has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $157.04 and a 200 day moving average of $160.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Clorox will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Clorox by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.