The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,360,000 shares, a decline of 10.6% from the November 15th total of 3,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.
Clorox stock traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $163.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,095,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,642. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a PE ratio of 56.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $163.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00.
Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Clorox will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox's payout ratio is currently 170.03%.
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 5.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 17,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Clorox by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 135,225 shares of the company's stock worth $21,840,000 after purchasing an additional 12,776 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Clorox by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,689,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Clorox by 9.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,102 shares of the company's stock worth $3,742,000 after buying an additional 1,864 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
CLX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.38.
View Our Latest Research Report on 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.
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