Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Clorox from “sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Reduce,” with 13 hold ratings and four sell ratings and an average price target of $101.40.
• Clorox shares opened at $83.17, down 2.1%, near their 52-week low of $83.09 and well below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $98.27 and $99.13, respectively.
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.66 and revenue of $1.95 billion, but revenue declined 2% year over year and EPS fell from $2.87 in the prior-year period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the stock.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

CLX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, September 11th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Clorox from $97.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Clorox from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Clorox from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $101.40.

Clorox Stock Down 2.1%

CLX opened at $83.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $98.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.13. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $128.90.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.02. Clorox had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 522.23%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.87 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $958,640,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,172,233 shares of the company's stock worth $318,613,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 426,433 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the second quarter valued at $179,780,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,619,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,284,000 after buying an additional 142,463 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company NYSE: CLX is a consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets household, health and wellness, and lifestyle products. Its portfolio includes cleaning and disinfecting products, laundry and home-care items, food products, personal-care products, water-filtration systems, charcoal, and cat litter.

Clorox's brands include Clorox bleach and disinfecting products, Pine-Sol, Fresh Step and Scoop Away, Kingsford, Brita, Burt's Bees, Hidden Valley, and products marketed under the Glad name.

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