Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Clorox to “Hold” from “Strong Sell,” but the broader analyst consensus remains “Reduce,” with 13 Hold ratings and four Sell ratings.
• Several analysts recently lowered their price targets, while the consensus target stands at $101.40 versus Clorox’s $87.14 opening price; shares are near their one-year low of $84.70.
• Clorox slightly exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.66 EPS and $1.95 billion in revenue, though revenue declined 2% year over year and prior-year EPS was $2.87.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $102.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Evercore set a $99.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $101.40.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $87.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.89 and a 200-day moving average of $99.83. Clorox has a one year low of $84.70 and a one year high of $128.90.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.02. Clorox had a return on equity of 522.23% and a net margin of 8.74%.The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.87 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Clorox during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Markowski Investments bought a new position in Clorox during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 83.8% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 318 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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