The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $93.79 According to Analysts

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.79.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CLX. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Clorox from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other news, Director Pierre Breber purchased 4,000 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $100.06 per share, for a total transaction of $400,240.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,201,320. This trade represents a 22.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at about $958,640,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. bought a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $163,038,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $179,780,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $123,154,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp purchased a new position in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $111,800,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $106.36 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.61. Clorox has a 1-year low of $79.12 and a 1-year high of $128.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.91. The company has a market cap of $12.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.48. Clorox had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 608.30%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was up 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.93%.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company is a consumer products company founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California. It makes and markets products for household cleaning, food, water filtration, personal care and pet care. Its portfolio includes Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Glad trash bags and food-storage products, Kingsford charcoal, Brita water filters, Hidden Valley dressings and sauces, Burt’s Bees personal-care products, and Fresh Step cat litter. The company also sells products under brands such as Pine-Sol and Liquid-Plumr.