Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Kimberly-Clark has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with one sell rating, six hold ratings, and three buy ratings out of ten coverage firms.
• The company's stock has a 12-month price target averaging $142.70, with prices ranging from a low of $124.10 to a high of $150.45 in the past year.
• As of now, institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 76.29% of Kimberly-Clark's stock, indicating strong institutional interest.

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $142.70.

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price target for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KMB. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth $1,486,000. Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at about $214,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 99.6% during the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,918 shares of the company's stock worth $1,419,000 after acquiring an additional 5,448 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,768,000. Finally, Monarch Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $129.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33. Kimberly-Clark has a 12-month low of $124.10 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm's 50-day moving average is $130.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.19.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is presently 69.42%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.

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