Zacks Research Downgrades Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Edgewell Personal Care has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "strong sell" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting a negative outlook for the company's stock.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a miss on earnings per share and a 3.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Research analysts remain divided on the stock with four Buy ratings, three Hold ratings, and one Sell rating, resulting in a consensus price target of $29.29.

Zacks Research lowered shares of Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday, August 19th,Zacks.com reports.

EPC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.29.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of EPC stock traded down $0.16 on Tuesday, hitting $23.34. The stock had a trading volume of 98,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,657. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average is $24.36 and its 200-day moving average is $27.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.77. Edgewell Personal Care has a 52-week low of $19.13 and a 52-week high of $40.71.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.09). Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $627.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $658.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Edgewell Personal Care has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.650-2.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Edgewell Personal Care's payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 4,732.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,002 shares of the company's stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 22,526 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 3.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 17,986 shares of the company's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 35.3% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,100 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,633 shares of the company's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,057 shares of the company's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 5,019 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.91% of the company's stock.

Edgewell Personal Care Company Profile

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.