Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 1,011 Shares of Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned approximately 0.24% of Edgewell Personal Care worth $3,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,799,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,875,000 after acquiring an additional 24,850 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,222,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,284,000 after purchasing an additional 64,257 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,041,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,600,000 after purchasing an additional 355,224 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,166,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,183,000 after purchasing an additional 74,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 878,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,514,000 after purchasing an additional 253,014 shares during the last quarter. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

EPC opened at $27.38 on Tuesday. 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 $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.88. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a 1 year low of $24.35 and a 1 year high of $41.50.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $580.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.01 million. Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 4.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Edgewell Personal Care Co will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Edgewell Personal Care from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

Edgewell Personal Care Profile

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.