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Clorox (CLX) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Clorox (CLX - Free Report) closed at $219.37 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.82% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.54%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.85%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.87%.

Coming into today, shares of the consumer products maker had gained 6.55% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector gained 0.12%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.57%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from CLX as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.72, down 8.51% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.85 billion, up 13.81% from the year-ago period.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for CLX should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.24% higher within the past month. CLX currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that CLX has a Forward P/E ratio of 31.5 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 23.74, so we one might conclude that CLX is trading at a premium comparatively.

Meanwhile, CLX's PEG ratio is currently 5.46. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Soap and Cleaning Materials stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.96 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Soap and Cleaning Materials industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 35, which puts it in the top 14% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow CLX in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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