StockNews.com Lowers Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

EPC has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $41.80.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

NYSE EPC opened at $36.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.87. Edgewell Personal Care has a 1-year low of $33.71 and a 1-year high of $41.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.49.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.67 million. Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.92% and a net margin of 5.26%. Edgewell Personal Care’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 82.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 32,900.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.