Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $159.78, but opened at $154.00. Clorox shares last traded at $151.17, with a volume of 883,907 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CLX shares. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.64.

Clorox Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a PE ratio of 52.00, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $162.63 and its 200-day moving average is $158.67.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.04%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 5.6% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 191,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,266,000 after acquiring an additional 10,149 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 43.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,865,000 after acquiring an additional 9,037 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 8.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 63,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,341,000 after acquiring an additional 4,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 723,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,932,000 after acquiring an additional 13,038 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.