The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $153.00.

CLX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,573,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,135,000 after purchasing an additional 65,924 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,098,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,925,000 after purchasing an additional 69,969 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,761,000 after purchasing an additional 9,582 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at about $259,041,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,528,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,133,000 after purchasing an additional 34,655 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $119.46 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Clorox has a 1 year low of $119.41 and a 1 year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 324.23%. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Clorox will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.