Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Stock Price

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $155.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CLX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Clorox from $139.00 to $134.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $153.83.

Clorox Trading Down 1.3 %

Clorox stock traded down $1.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $138.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 236,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,300,158. The stock has a market cap of $17.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. Clorox has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.57 and a 200-day moving average of $156.36.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,507,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,518,517,000 after acquiring an additional 124,428 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 69,969 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Clorox by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company's stock worth $380,761,000 after purchasing an additional 9,582 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $259,041,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Clorox by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,494,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,684,000 after purchasing an additional 230,173 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.