Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $120.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Church & Dwight traded as high as $105.83 and last traded at $105.61, with a volume of 161921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.35.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on CHD. Truist Financial upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $761,944.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,525,266.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total transaction of $1,037,763.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,551.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $761,944.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at $2,525,266.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock worth $38,603,796 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Church & Dwight

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHD. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 2,087.5% during the 4th quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.83.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is presently 37.17%.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.