The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $148.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CLX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $120.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Clorox in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “sell” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 18.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in Clorox by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 276.6% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 6,844 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,073,000 after acquiring an additional 5,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 81.1% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,410,000 after purchasing an additional 10,981 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:CLX opened at $144.36 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $114.68 and a fifty-two week high of $178.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 229.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.43.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. Clorox’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 761.92%.

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.