Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $150.00. The stock had previously closed at $147.87, but opened at $139.84. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Clorox shares last traded at $136.85, with a volume of 718,362 shares trading hands.

CLX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $164.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 308.5% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Trading Down 5.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37. The company has a market capitalization of $17.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 221.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $149.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.10.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 761.92%.

Clorox Company Profile

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.