Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded by TD Cowen to “Hold” Rating

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $170.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $155.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

Clorox Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE CLX opened at $162.70 on Wednesday. Clorox has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $169.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.58. The company has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a PE ratio of 56.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Clorox by 99.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,136,000 after acquiring an additional 22,882 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Clorox by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Clorox during the 1st quarter worth $88,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in Clorox by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 6,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.