Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Weak Earnings

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $26.65 and last traded at $28.62, with a volume of 2214113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.60.

The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.06). Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 9.78%.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Edgewell Personal Care’s payout ratio is 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EPC. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Edgewell Personal Care has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the third quarter valued at about $6,128,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 54.3% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 211,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,670,000 after buying an additional 74,315 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the third quarter valued at about $639,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 563.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,400,000 after purchasing an additional 126,168 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 669,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,345,000 after purchasing an additional 39,059 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.91% of the company’s stock.

Edgewell Personal Care Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.59. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.88.

Edgewell Personal Care Company Profile

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.