Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Hits New 12-Month Low After Earnings Miss

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $24.35 and last traded at $27.02, with a volume of 1888694 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.02.

The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $580.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.01 million. Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 9.29%. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Edgewell Personal Care’s payout ratio is 32.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 563.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,400,000 after buying an additional 126,168 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 128,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 251,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,137,000 after purchasing an additional 7,018 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 208.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 11,183 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 17,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the last quarter. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.91.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.