Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.71.

Edgewell Personal Care Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE EPC opened at $30.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Edgewell Personal Care has a 1 year low of $26.65 and a 1 year high of $41.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.22 and a 200 day moving average of $33.05.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.06). Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 4.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 85.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 217.4% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 805.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.91% of the company’s stock.

Edgewell Personal Care Company Profile

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.