Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Church & Dwight reached a 52-week high of $114.23, up from a prior close of $112.03.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: eight rate the stock Buy, eight Hold and one Sell. The average price target is $108.44, below the recent share price.
• The company beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.92 versus $0.90 expected and revenue of $1.60 billion versus $1.58 billion. It also announced a $0.3075 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.1% yield.

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $114.23 and last traded at $113.6880, with a volume of 90,375 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $112.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHD has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.44.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 2.2%

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $99.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.41%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.3075 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, CEO Richard A. Dierker sold 83,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.59, for a total transaction of $9,133,230.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,236,639.81. This trade represents a 68.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 5,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.25, for a total transaction of $511,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,793.50. This trade represents a 38.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 127,690 shares of company stock worth $13,712,471 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Church & Dwight

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 815.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 348 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 516.4% during the 3rd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that develops, manufactures and markets household, personal care and specialty products. Its portfolio is anchored by the ARM & HAMMER brand, which is used across products such as baking soda, laundry detergent, cat litter, household cleaners, oral care products and personal care items.

The company also markets a broad range of branded products, including OxiClean laundry and cleaning products, Trojan sexual wellness products, Waterpik oral health devices, First Response pregnancy and fertility tests, Nair hair-removal products, Orajel oral pain relief, TheraBreath oral care products, and vitamins and supplements sold under the Vitafusion and L'il Critters brands.

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