Wall Street Zen Downgrades Clorox (NYSE:CLX) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Clorox from “hold” to “sell,” adding to a cautious analyst outlook. The stock has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $101.40, with 13 Hold and four Sell ratings.
• Clorox shares opened at $80.34, near their 52-week low of $79.12 and well below the 52-week high of $128.90. The stock is also trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Although Clorox beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, results weakened year over year: EPS fell to $1.66 from $2.87 and revenue declined 2%. Institutional investors own approximately 78.53% of the company.

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

CLX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research raised Clorox from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $98.00 price target on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Clorox from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $101.40.

Clorox Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of CLX opened at $80.34 on Friday. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $79.12 and a fifty-two week high of $128.90. The firm has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.87 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Clorox will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Markowski Investments purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 83.8% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 318 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Clorox during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company is a consumer and professional products company that develops, manufactures and markets household cleaning, disinfecting, wellness and personal care products. Its portfolio includes the Clorox bleach and cleaning brands, as well as products sold under brands such as Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Fresh Step, Scoop Away, Kingsford, Hidden Valley, Burt's Bees and Brita.

Clorox also offers trash bags, food products, water-filtration systems, charcoal and grilling products, cat litter, and professional cleaning and disinfecting solutions.

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