Short Interest in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Rises By 14.6%

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,850,000 shares, an increase of 14.6% from the November 30th total of 3,360,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 300.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Clorox by 139.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Clorox by 99.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Clorox in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com raised Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.38.

Clorox Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX traded down $1.58 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $161.42. 765,444 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,229,389. The firm has a market cap of $19.98 billion, a PE ratio of 56.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.