Clorox (CLX) was upgraded from Neutral to Outperform following the recent positive earnings surprise. Earnings estimates for future quarters were in line with company guidance. The most recent quarter saw the company top the Zacks Consensus Estimate on both the top and the bottom lines.
Clorox Company’s business operations, represented by the aggregate of its U.S. Household Products and Canada, U.S. Specialty Products and International segments, include the production and marketing of non- durable consumer products sold primarily through grocery and other retail stores.
For the full year, the company reported earnings of $4.24 per share, surpassing the year-ago earnings of $4.16 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.05. Full-year sales increased 4.5% year over year to $5,468 million, slightly surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,461 million.
In the quarter, Clorox bought back about 1 million shares for approximately $68 million. Full year share repurchases totaled 3.4 million shares for approximately $225 million. The company anticipates annual earnings of $4.20 to $4.35 per share in fiscal 2013.
Our target price of $86.00 is based on a 20x multiple of 2013 earnings estimates.
