Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40, Briefing.com reports. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $137.19. 1,278,983 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,192,435. Kimberly-Clark has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $46.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.71.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.