Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Kimberly-Clark's shares reached a new 12-month low of $123.82 after Evercore ISI downgraded their price target from $155.00 to $150.00 while maintaining an outperform rating.
• The company recently reported $1.92 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, though its revenue fell short at $4.16 billion compared to an expected $4.85 billion.
• Kimberly-Clark announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26, yielding 4.1%, with the dividend payout ratio at 69.42%.

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $150.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Kimberly-Clark traded as low as $123.82 and last traded at $124.05, with a volume of 641076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.62.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on KMB. UBS Group lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $125.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 176.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 989.5% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 207 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.32.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.