The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $145.17.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,573,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,293,135,000 after buying an additional 65,924 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,098,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,925,000 after buying an additional 69,969 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,761,000 after buying an additional 9,582 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $259,041,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,528,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,133,000 after buying an additional 34,655 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock opened at $128.28 on Monday. Clorox has a 1 year low of $117.35 and a 1 year high of $171.37. 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 stock has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.06.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a return on equity of 324.23% and a net margin of 9.89%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Company Profile

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.

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