Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Edgewell Personal Care's shares gapped down from a previous close of $25.00 to an opening price of $20.85, with the stock last trading at $20.36.
• Analysts have adjusted price targets for Edgewell, with Wells Fargo lowering its target from $35.00 to $32.00 while Barclays raised its target to $26.00, indicating mixed outlooks for the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting $0.87 EPS, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.90, and experienced a 3.1% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Shares of Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.00, but opened at $20.85. Edgewell Personal Care shares last traded at $20.36, with a volume of 131,148 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on EPC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Edgewell Personal Care from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.14.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.40 and a 200 day moving average of $28.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $909.80 million, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $580.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.01 million. Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 3.81%. Edgewell Personal Care's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Edgewell Personal Care Company will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Edgewell Personal Care's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EPC. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 85.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 751 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 238.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 975 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 167.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 805.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the second quarter worth approximately $69,000. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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