Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Given “Sector Perform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $123.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 4.97% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. HSBC increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.93.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE KMB traded up $2.16 on Thursday, hitting $129.43. 1,127,038 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,093,892. The company has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $147.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.95.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.