Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $128.93, but opened at $138.96. Kimberly-Clark shares last traded at $136.02, with a volume of 1,734,416 shares.

The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $437,420,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 74.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,155 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,815,000 after purchasing an additional 641,187 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 31.4% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,197,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,530,000 after purchasing an additional 524,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 552.4% in the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 456,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,163,000 after purchasing an additional 386,497 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $125.17 and its 200 day moving average is $122.66. The company has a market capitalization of $46.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.