Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Edgewell Personal Care was upgraded from an "underweight" to an "equal weight" rating by Morgan Stanley, with a new target price of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.9% from its current price.
• Despite the upgrade, Edgewell Personal Care's stock has dropped 18.5% and reported lower-than-expected earnings of $0.92 per share, missing the consensus estimate by $0.09.
• Institutional investors hold 91.91% of Edgewell's stock, indicating strong institutional interest amidst recent fluctuations in the company's stock price and ratings changes.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $23.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $26.00. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential upside of 4.47% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.29.

Edgewell Personal Care Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of EPC stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.02. 740,884 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 993,899. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $24.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.32. Edgewell Personal Care has a 1-year low of $19.13 and a 1-year high of $40.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.81.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $627.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $658.51 million. Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Edgewell Personal Care's revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 238.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 975 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 195.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 167.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 805.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362 shares in the last quarter. 91.91% of the stock is 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.