Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $128.93, but opened at $138.96. Kimberly-Clark shares last traded at $136.02, with a volume of 1,734,416 shares trading hands.

The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KMB. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMB. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% during the third quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $125.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.66. The stock has a market cap of $46.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.40.

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.