The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Short Interest Up 14.6% in December

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,850,000 shares, an increase of 14.6% from the November 30th total of 3,360,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX traded down $1.58 during trading on Monday, reaching $161.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 765,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,389. Clorox has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,641,000 after acquiring an additional 9,720 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its stake in Clorox by 5.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 17,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 135,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,840,000 after purchasing an additional 12,776 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently 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.