Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,110,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,190,500. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.55. Kimberly-Clark has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.38.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.