Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $31.60, but opened at $28.90. Edgewell Personal Care shares last traded at $27.40, with a volume of 166,082 shares traded.

The company reported $0.07 earnings per share 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 given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $53.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.57.

Institutional Trading of Edgewell Personal Care

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,799,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,875,000 after purchasing an additional 24,850 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,222,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,284,000 after acquiring an additional 64,257 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,041,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,600,000 after acquiring an additional 355,224 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,130,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,078,000 after purchasing an additional 6,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 878,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,514,000 after purchasing an additional 253,014 shares in the last quarter. 91.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

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 company has a 50-day moving average of $33.60 and a 200-day moving average of $35.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.88.

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.