The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and twelve have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.38.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CLX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Clorox in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “sell” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Clorox from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Clorox from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. abrdn plc boosted its position in Clorox by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 198,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,268,000 after acquiring an additional 33,135 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 17,658.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,078,000 after acquiring an additional 481,725 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth $6,605,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth $2,940,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Clorox by 483.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 27,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,949,000 after acquiring an additional 22,952 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Clorox stock opened at $139.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.00 and its 200-day moving average is $143.10. The company has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 221.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Clorox has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $178.21.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. Clorox’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 761.92%.

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.