D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Raises Position in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) by 38.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,391 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,542 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Edgewell Personal Care were worth $2,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 85.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 751 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 217.4% in the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 805.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,362 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.91% of the company’s stock.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Performance

NYSE EPC opened at $28.35 on Wednesday. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a 52-week low of $24.35 and a 52-week high of $41.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 2.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.63 and a 200-day moving average of $32.15.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.03). Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 4.09%. The company had revenue of $580.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Edgewell Personal Care Co will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on EPC. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

About Edgewell Personal Care

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.