Short Interest in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Declines By 18.1%

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, a decline of 18.1% from the February 28th total of 4,320,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Clorox from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.00.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX opened at $147.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.66. Clorox has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Clorox will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 59,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,736,000 after acquiring an additional 12,428 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 119.6% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $1,566,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Clorox by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 565,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,893,000 after buying an additional 6,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.