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 equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat 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 would indicate a potential upside of 12.90% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on EPC. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" 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 company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target 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. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.86.

Edgewell Personal Care Trading Down 18.5%

Edgewell Personal Care stock opened at $20.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $958.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.09). Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 3.81%. The company had revenue of $627.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $658.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors 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 increased its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 85.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 751 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 687 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted 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 worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 167.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 805.9% in 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. 91.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Edgewell Personal Care

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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