Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

EPC has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.80.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Up 0.7 %

EPC opened at $38.32 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.28 and a 200-day moving average of $38.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 0.88. Edgewell Personal Care has a fifty-two week low of $33.71 and a fifty-two week high of $41.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.21. Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Edgewell Personal Care’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Edgewell Personal Care will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EPC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,647,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 483.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 292,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,298,000 after purchasing an additional 242,310 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,071,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,058,000 after purchasing an additional 152,200 shares during the last quarter. Kestrel Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Edgewell Personal Care during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,855,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,195,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,774,000 after buying an additional 120,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.