Shares of personal care and consumer tissue products provider Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) are on the rise today after its third-quarter EPS of $1.74 landed past expectations by $0.15. However, revenue of $5.1 billion missed the cut by about $60 million. Buoyed by growth across all of its segments and margin improvement, KMB raised its outlook for the full year.
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The company now expects organic sales growth for Fiscal Year 2023 to be in the range of 4% to 5%, up from the previous outlook of 3% to 5%. The adjusted EPS for the year is expected to rise between 15% and 17%, a significant boost over KMB’s prior expectations of 10% to 14%.
During the quarter, KMB’s top line rose by 2%, driven by ongoing revenue growth programs and a favorable product mix. Organic sales in the North American region rose by 7%, propelled by growth across the company’s Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional segments. Moreover, cost savings and favorable input costs helped the company expand its gross margin by 530 basis points to 35.8%.
Is Kimberly-Clark a Good Investment?
Overall, the Street has a Hold consensus rating on Kimberly-Clark. After a share price decline of nearly 14% over the past six months, the average KMB price target of $127.38 implies a modest 4.6% potential upside.
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