Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Given New $170.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CLX. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Clorox in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an underperform rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus raised shares of Clorox to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a sell rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Clorox from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $143.50.

Clorox Stock Down 0.0 %

CLX opened at $164.81 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.92. Clorox has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $166.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 252.85%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox during the second quarter worth approximately $2,964,000. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 8,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its position in Clorox by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Clorox by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Clorox by 19.8% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,382,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.