Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Raised to In-Line at Evercore

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) was upgraded by analysts at Evercore from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a $99.00 target price on the stock. Evercore‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Clorox from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $93.57.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $88.01 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80. Clorox has a 12 month low of $79.12 and a 12 month high of $128.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.59.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.02. Clorox had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 522.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Clorox will post 5.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Markowski Investments acquired a new position in Clorox in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 83.8% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Clorox in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Company Profile

The Clorox Company, founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California, is a consumer and professional products company. It began with household bleach and has expanded into a portfolio of brands serving cleaning, household, personal care, food, and professional markets.

Its brands include Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Pine-Sol cleaners, Liquid-Plumr drain care, Kingsford charcoal, Fresh Step and Scoop Away cat litter, Hidden Valley dressings and dips, Brita water filtration products, and Burt’s Bees personal care items.