StockNews.com Upgrades Clorox (NYSE:CLX) to Buy

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.38.

Clorox Price Performance

Clorox stock opened at $163.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $164.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.79. Clorox has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a PE ratio of 56.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. Clorox’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CLX. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,641,000 after purchasing an additional 9,720 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in Clorox by 5.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 17,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,904,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 10.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 135,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,840,000 after buying an additional 12,776 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,873,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Clorox by 12.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.