Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Stock Price

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $157.00 to $161.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CLX. Barclays cut their target price on Clorox from $139.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.64.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE:CLX opened at $148.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. Clorox has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $162.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the third quarter worth $54,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Clorox by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 191,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,149 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,865,000 after buying an additional 9,037 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 8.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 63,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,341,000 after buying an additional 4,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 723,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,932,000 after buying an additional 13,038 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.