Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Kimberly-Clark's shares gapped up significantly, opening at $132.69 after the company reported better than expected quarterly earnings of $1.92 EPS, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.25.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Kimberly-Clark, with price targets ranging from $125.00 to $155.00, while the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Institutional investors own 76.29% of Kimberly-Clark's stock, indicating strong institutional interest, with Envestnet Asset Management increasing its holdings by 60% in the last quarter.

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $124.62, but opened at $132.69. Kimberly-Clark shares last traded at $133.20, with a volume of 1,117,516 shares.

The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $134.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group dropped 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. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, July 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.90.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 555,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,626,000 after purchasing an additional 208,335 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 8,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 46,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,045,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at about $304,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 6.4%

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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $131.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.53. The company has a market capitalization of $43.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35.

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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