The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Plans $1.22 Quarterly Dividend

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 25th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of 1.22 per share on Friday, May 9th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd.

Clorox has increased its dividend payment by an average of 1.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 47 consecutive years. Clorox has a payout ratio of 67.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Clorox to earn $7.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.5%.

Clorox Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE CLX traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $156.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,498,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,378,293. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.15. The stock has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.76, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42. Clorox has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Clorox will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CLX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.21.

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.