Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $171.37 and last traded at $169.95, with a volume of 97704 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $169.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

Clorox Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.14, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 3.0% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 13,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 110.2% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 15,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 8,065 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 92.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 92 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.