Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $120.11 and last traded at $121.30, with a volume of 105628 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $122.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CLX. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $149.50.

Clorox Trading Up 0.9%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.54.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a return on equity of 324.23% and a net margin of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Clorox's revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $285,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Clorox by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in Clorox by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in Clorox by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 48,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $9,047,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company's stock.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States.