Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut Clorox’s price target from $102 to $90 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 4.2% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Clorox has an average “Reduce” rating, with 12 analysts recommending Hold and five recommending Sell; the consensus price target is $101.60.
• Clorox shares fell to $86.35 and traded near their 52-week low. Although the company slightly exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, sales declined 2% year over year and EPS dropped from $2.87 to $1.66.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $90.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential upside of 4.22% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on CLX. Wall Street Zen lowered Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Clorox from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Clorox from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore set a $99.00 price objective on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $98.00 target price on Clorox in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $101.60.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX stock traded down $2.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.35. 1,935,170 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,590,529. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a PEG 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $99.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.64. Clorox has a 52 week low of $84.70 and a 52 week high of $128.90.

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

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CLX. Miramontes Capital LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the second quarter worth about $319,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,671,000 after buying an additional 8,031 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Clorox by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 31,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,038,000 after buying an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,418 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Clorox by 11.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 75,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,956 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Company Profile

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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