The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives $148.63 Average PT from Analysts

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $146.43.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $162.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $164.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “sell” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 308.5% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Trading Down 1.0 %

CLX stock opened at $138.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 71.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.90. Clorox has a one year low of $114.68 and a one year high of $176.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $148.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.38. Clorox had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 302.49%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Clorox will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 248.70%.

About Clorox

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.