Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Posts Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50, Zacks reports. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $131.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. Kimberly-Clark has a 12-month low of $117.67 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $131.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.56. The firm has a market cap of $43.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company’s Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.