Shares of The Clorox Company CLX hit a new 52-week high of $171.35 last Friday before slipping slightly, closing at $169.30, down less than 1%. This price level reflects an impressive 32.7% gain from its 52-week low of $127.60.
Over the past six months, CLX shares have rallied 28.7%, showcasing strong performance compared with the industry's 6.6% growth. Clorox's success is fueled by its focus on product innovation and continued investment in its brands, enabling it to win with consumers and grow market share. These efforts have allowed the company to outperform the S&P 500’s rally of 12.1% and the broader Consumer Staples sector’s rise of 1.1% in the past six months.
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Technical indicators are also supportive of Clorox’s strong performance. The stock is trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating robust upward momentum and price stability. This moving average is an important indicator for gauging market trends and momentum.
Let’s analyze whether Clorox will continue its recent positive momentum or if a pullback is likely ahead.
Factors Driving Clorox’s Momentum
The recent upswing in Clorox's shares is driven by several key factors. The company performed well in its core business operations during the first quarter of 2025. The company has successfully navigated from the cyber-attack that occurred earlier in the year, restoring its supply and distribution, and regaining growth across most of its markets where it lost share. The company also indicated that it does not anticipate significant costs related to the cyber-attack in future.
The company reported its eighth consecutive quarter of gross margin expansion in the first quarter of 2025, showcasing a sustained effort to improve profitability. This progress highlights the success of their holistic margin management capabilities, which involve optimizing costs, pricing and product mix to enhance margins.
The company remains on track to restore gross margins to pre-pandemic levels this fiscal year, a significant milestone reflecting recovery and improved operational efficiency. While rebuilding margins, the company continues to reinvest in its business to drive future growth, balancing profitability with long-term value creation.
Clorox made significant progress in advancing its IGNITE strategy, which focuses on growth and innovation. The company has completed the implementation of its streamlined operating model and strengthened digital transformation efforts, positioning itself for continued success in the evolving market landscape.
More Insights Into CLOROX’s Performance
Recent innovations from Clorox include the Clorox Scentiva Bleach Lavender & Jasmine, Clorox EcoClean Disinfecting Wipes and Glad ForceFlex MaxStrength Trash Bags. These innovations underscore Clorox's commitment to boosting consumer value and brand loyalty through product diversification.
Management expects fiscal 2025 net sales to be flat to down 2% from the prior year’s actual. Organic sales are anticipated to increase by 3-5%, excluding 2 points of negative impacts of the divestiture of the company's business in Argentina and 3 points from the expected sale of the Better Health VMS business.
The gross margin is expected to improve by 100-150 bps, driven by comprehensive margin management efforts, though partially offset by cost inflation and higher trade promotional expenses. The company projects an adjusted EPS of $6.65-$6.90 versus the $6.55-$6.80 mentioned earlier. The revised adjusted EPS suggests an 8-12% year-over-year increase.
What Do Estimates Say About CLX?
Reflecting the positive sentiment around Clorox, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share has seen upward revisions. Over the past 30 days, analysts have increased their current and next fiscal year estimates by 3.2% to $6.85 and by 2% to $7.17 per share, respectively. These estimates indicate expected year-over-year growth rates of around 11% and 4.8%, respectively.
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Final Thoughts on Clorox
Investors should consider Clorox with its recent performance and strategic positioning. Given its operational strength, strategic focus on innovation and robust recovery, Clorox is well-positioned for growth and offers a solid investment opportunity. The CLX stock is performing strongly in the market and currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Three Other Stocks to Consider
We have highlighted three other top-ranked stocks from the Consumer Staples sector, namely Ingredion Incorporated INGR, Freshpet FRPT and Pilgrim’s Pride PPC.
Ingredion manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn and other starch-based materials. The company currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
INGR has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.5%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ingredion’s current financial-year’s earnings indicates growth of 12.5% from the year-ago reported number.
Freshpet, a pet food company, presently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. FRPT has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 144.5%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Freshpet’s current financial-year sales and earnings suggests growth of 27.3% and 224.3%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s reported figure.
Pilgrim’s Pride, which produces, processes, markets and distributes fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. PPC delivered a positive earnings surprise of 30.9% in the trailing four quarters, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimated figure for Pilgrim’s Pride’s current financial-year earnings indicates growth of 190.5% from the prior-year reported level.
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Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpThe Clorox Company (CLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Freshpet, Inc. (FRPT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Ingredion Incorporated (INGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
