Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup lifted 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. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.38.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE CLX traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $163.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 596,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,245. 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 stock has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a PE ratio of 56.79, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50-day moving average is $164.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.95. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Insight Folios Inc increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.0% in the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,195 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 0.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company's stock worth $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Clorox by 2.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Clorox by 2.2% in the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Clorox by 17.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Company Profile

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.