Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.25 EPS

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 237.13%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.2 %

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $1.69 during trading on Thursday, reaching $142.20. 133,489 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,150,166. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81. Kimberly-Clark has a 52-week low of $116.32 and a 52-week high of $145.62. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $137.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.98.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total transaction of $866,420.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,562,467.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total transaction of $866,420.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,562,467.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,217 shares of company stock worth $1,936,660. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KMB. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

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.