Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded at BNP Paribas Exane

BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

CLX has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Clorox from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $152.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Clorox from $110.00 to $94.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $118.07.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE:CLX opened at $125.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.03, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $107.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.73. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $96.66 and a fifty-two week high of $159.04.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.04). Clorox had a return on equity of 383.01% and a net margin of 11.17%.The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 81.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber purchased 4,000 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $104.13 per share, for a total transaction of $416,520.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,690. The trade was a 44.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Clorox by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,845,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,902,569,000 after acquiring an additional 272,420 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Clorox by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,434,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,946,000 after buying an additional 282,794 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,995,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,656,000 after acquiring an additional 750,415 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,172,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,613,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Clorox by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,136,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,244,000 after acquiring an additional 426,433 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Company Profile

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products designed to help people care for their homes and live healthy, sustainable lives. Its portfolio spans cleaning and household products, food and beverages, water filtration systems and cat litter, serving both retail and institutional customers. The company’s flagship bleach and disinfecting products are well known in the United States and many international markets, where they help prevent the spread of germs in homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.

Clorox’s diverse brand lineup includes liquid bleach and surface cleaners, eco-friendly cleaning tools, food preservation and preparation items, charcoal grills and briquettes, specialty foods and beverages, pet care products and personal care lines.