Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Raised to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential downside of 5.07% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CLX. UBS Group lifted their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Bank of America raised Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Clorox from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.06.

Clorox Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of CLX stock opened at $152.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 242.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.43. Clorox has a twelve month low of $114.68 and a twelve month high of $178.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.85.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Clorox will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. O Dell Group LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.