Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Stock Bumped Up to "Hold" by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Clorox from “sell” to “hold.” Analysts remain cautious overall: 11 rate the stock Hold and four Sell, with an average price target of $93.79.
• Clorox beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.55 versus $1.07 expected and revenue of $1.91 billion; revenue rose 33.3% year over year.
• Director Pierre Breber bought 4,000 shares at an average price of $100.06, increasing his stake by 22.22%.

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Clorox from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Clorox from $97.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $93.79.

Clorox Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $99.80 on Friday. Clorox has a 12-month low of $79.12 and a 12-month high of $128.90. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $87.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 601.88%. Clorox's revenue for the quarter was up 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. Analysts predict that Clorox will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pierre Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $100.06 per share, with a total value of $400,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,201,320. This represents a 22.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the second quarter worth $28,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Markowski Investments bought a new position in Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 86.0% during the third quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 372 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company, founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California, is a consumer and professional products company. It began with household bleach and has expanded into a portfolio of brands serving cleaning, household, personal care, food, and professional markets.

Its brands include Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Pine-Sol cleaners, Liquid-Plumr drain care, Kingsford charcoal, Fresh Step and Scoop Away cat litter, Hidden Valley dressings and dips, Brita water filtration products, and Burt's Bees personal care items.

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