Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $118.00 to $112.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $134.08.

Clorox Stock Down 0.5%

CLX opened at $122.64 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $123.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.96. Clorox has a twelve month low of $116.53 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 377.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Clorox will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 76.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total transaction of $1,861,774.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 54,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,711,475.38. This trade represents a 21.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Clorox by 36.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Clorox by 5.7% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 273,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,267,000 after purchasing an additional 14,647 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Clorox by 5.4% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 28,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 123,850.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Clorox

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.