Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Rating Reiterated by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $160.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Clorox from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Clorox from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. DA Davidson reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $162.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Clorox from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and increased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $147.06.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $153.11 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.02. Clorox has a one year low of $114.68 and a one year high of $178.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.00 billion, a PE ratio of 243.04, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Clorox will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 761.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 384.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 64,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,206,000 after acquiring an additional 50,917 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth $6,605,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth $2,940,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 742.8% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 78,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,316,000 after acquiring an additional 69,373 shares during the period. Finally, Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 279.4% during the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 164,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,521,000 after acquiring an additional 120,926 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.