Church & Dwight is Monday's IBD Stock Of The Day, as the Arm & Hammer brand-parent advanced above a buy point with investors continuing to view the household goods company as a defensive play in the current tough market. CHD shares angled higher Monday, breaking out just above a buy point.
Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Powers on Monday raised his price target on Church & Dwight stock to 112, up from 109. The analyst kept a buy rating on CHD with the company set to report first quarter earnings and revenue in early May.
In early February, Church & Dwight forecast first quarter EPS of 85 cents, flat compared with Q1 2023, with revenue slipping less than 1% to $1.487 billion. Wall Street expects earnings of 87 cents per share and sales of $1.494 billion.
Powers predicts a strong Q1 supported by a 6.2% rise in tracked channel consumption momentum. That would be higher than the 5.5% increase in Q4 2023. This growth is partly attributed to a surge in laundry detergent sales, coupled with the anticipation of new product launches, according to Powers.
Church & Dwight expects full-year EPS between $3.39 and $3.46 with revenue of $6.132 billion. Analysts expect 2024 earnings of $3.45 per share and sales totaling $6.13 billion, according to FactSet.
New Jersey-based Church & Dwight was founded in 1846 and is the leading U.S. producer of sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of personal care, household, and specialty products under brand names including Arm & Hammer, Oxiclean, Vitafusion, Batiste, Waterpik, Therabreath and Hero.
Church & Dwight Stock Performance
CHD stock edged up 1.5% to 105.95 in slightly above-average volume during Monday market action. Church & Dwight stock is also up more than 1% in April and is working on its fourth consecutive monthly advance. On the year, shares are up around 11%.
CHD shares topped an official 105.67 buy point from a flat base, according to MarketSurge analysis. It's part of a base-on-base formation.
Like other defensive plays, Church & Dwight tends to hold up well in tough markets. CHD stock's relative strength line has jumped to it best level this month. However, the RS line has trended lower since July 2020. If the market turns more bullish, investors could shift away from CHD and into growth plays.
Prior to Deutsche Bank's price target hike Monday, Bank of America last week upped its CHD price target to 104 from 100, keeping a neutral rating on the shares. This comes after Barclays analyst Lauren Lieberman on April 12 raised her price target on Church & Dwight to 83 from 80 with an underweight rating.
Lieberman wrote that in consumer health products and beverages, investors are beginning to look for value-oriented opportunities, like CHD.
The stock has an 82 Composite Rating out of a best-possible 99. Church & Dwight stock also has a 73 Relative Strength Rating and a 70 EPS Rating.
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