By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Clorox (NYSE:CLX) trounced expectations for the quarter, but the stock ticked down almost 3% anyway.
Investors are disappointed as the cleaning products company said fiscal 2021 sales growth would range from flat to low single digits on deceleration after elevated demand in the first half of the year.
The disappointment comes despite demand that "continues to be exorbitantly high," said outgoing Chief Executive Officer Benno Dorer. "As you look at consumption data in tracked channels, it's very, very high. And of course, that doesn't factor in the fact that there's a lot of latent demand given the out-of-stocks, which as people see wipes in store, they grab them and they're pretty much sold out right away. And we're far from refilling customer inventories. Typically, customers keep about four weeks of inventory."
Revenue at Clorox’s health and wellness division, which accounted for over 40% of total sales and includes cleaning products and supplements, rose 33%.
Clorox named president and longtime executive Linda Rendle as Dorer's replacement.
Shares were trading at a record last week. The stock has two buy ratings, four holds and three sells, with an average price target of $202.89, according to data compiled by Investing.com. Clorox is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 35, compared to the long-term average price-to-earnings ratio of 16 for the Dow, according to Zacks.