The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stock Rated “Reduce” by Sell-Side Brokerages

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $93.79.

Several research firms recently issued reports on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $97.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $100.06 per share, with a total value of $400,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 22,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,201,320. The trade was a 22.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Markowski Investments bought a new position in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Clorox in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $108.16 on Friday. Clorox has a 12-month low of $79.12 and a 12-month high of $128.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.45 and a 200 day moving average of $99.56.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 608.30%. The company’s revenue was up 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.93%.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company is a consumer products company founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California. It makes and markets products for household cleaning, food, water filtration, personal care and pet care. Its portfolio includes Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Glad trash bags and food-storage products, Kingsford charcoal, Brita water filters, Hidden Valley dressings and sauces, Burt’s Bees personal-care products, and Fresh Step cat litter. The company also sells products under brands such as Pine-Sol and Liquid-Plumr.