Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $84.65 and last traded at $84.9730, with a volume of 254207 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $84.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Clorox from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research raised Clorox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.40.

Clorox Trading Down 1.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $98.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.54.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 522.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.87 EPS. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. Clorox’s payout ratio is 103.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 13.0% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 14,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Miramontes Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at $319,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,671,000 after buying an additional 8,031 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Clorox by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 31,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,038,000 after acquiring an additional 7,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 7.3% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Company Profile

The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) is a consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets household, health and wellness, and lifestyle products. Its portfolio includes cleaning and disinfecting products, laundry and home-care items, food products, personal-care products, water-filtration systems, charcoal, and cat litter.

Clorox’s brands include Clorox bleach and disinfecting products, Pine-Sol, Fresh Step and Scoop Away, Kingsford, Brita, Burt’s Bees, Hidden Valley, and products marketed under the Glad name.