Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

CLX has been the subject of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.38.

Clorox Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE CLX opened at $161.72 on Wednesday. Clorox has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $20.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.40.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. Clorox’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 139.8% in the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 99.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 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.