Barclays Cuts Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target to $139.00

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $140.00 to $139.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.50.

Clorox Stock Up 0.4 %

Clorox stock opened at $146.18 on Thursday. Clorox has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $151.34 and a 200 day moving average of $159.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $18.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Clorox will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Clorox by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Company Profile

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.