Short Interest in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Grows By 21.6%

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,170,000 shares, a growth of 21.6% from the December 15th total of 4,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $127.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83. Kimberly-Clark has a fifty-two week low of $117.67 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.98. The company has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $175.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $151.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMB. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,768,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,824 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,060,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,443,000 after purchasing an additional 358,926 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,675,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,388,000 after purchasing an additional 206,671 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,740,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,625,000 after buying an additional 464,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,712,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,900,000 after buying an additional 20,953 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% 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.