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.
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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