The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.24

Key Points

• The Clorox Company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.24 per share, which marks a 1.6% increase from the previous dividend of $1.22.
• The company has a payout ratio of 71.6%, indicating that its dividend is well-supported by earnings, with forecasts suggesting an expected payout ratio of 68.5% in the upcoming year.
• Clorox's stock has recently been downgraded by several analysts, with Morgan Stanley and Barclays adjusting their price targets to $150 and $119, respectively.

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 30th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of 1.24 per share on Friday, August 29th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This is a 1.6% increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22.

Clorox has a dividend payout ratio of 71.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Clorox to earn $7.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.5%.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX traded down $2.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $123.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,928,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,666,065. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $117.35 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $126.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.01.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 538.72% and a net margin of 11.40%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Clorox will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.36.

About Clorox

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.