Magnetar Financial LLC Takes Position in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has invested approximately $7.90 million in The Clorox Company by acquiring 53,643 shares in Q1.
• Clorox recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $1.22 to $1.24, with a yield of 4.2%.
• Wall Street analysts have varied ratings for Clorox, with an average price target of $143.36, indicating cautious sentiment surrounding the stock's future performance.

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 53,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,899,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 1st quarter worth approximately $357,000. Okabena Investment Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 4,474 shares of the company's stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 246,351 shares of the company's stock worth $36,275,000 after buying an additional 36,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,978,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $118.21. 1,815,992 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,726,189. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $123.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.84. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $116.53 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. Clorox had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 377.86%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's payout ratio is presently 76.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $143.36.

Clorox Company Profile

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.