Clorox starts its new year off right

As the press release indicates, price increases and a more favorable commodity environment affected operations in a positive fashion. Clorox is also striving to be as efficient as possible. While the economy might be getting better, consumers still struggle to decide between generic products and those based on famous names. So, even though Clorox derives benefit from its logo with a certain segment of the shopping population, it still has to keep prices from going too high.

Clorox is sort of a boring businesses. It tries to maintain a stable set of fundamentals, generating enough cash to fund the dividend obligation and invest back into the business along the way. There was, however, one exciting piece of news for shareholders. As Reuters mentioned, guidance has been raised, showing management's confidence in the upcoming quarters. I just hope the top line can be improved. Growing profits is great, but shareholders want to read about expanding revenue bases, too.

I like the current yield on Clorox, and I like the fact that the stock hasn't gotten too far ahead of itself like many other equities that have bounced off their lows. Of course, this would be more typical for dividend stocks. If you're looking to play a little defense in the market, Clorox might be a good idea to evaluate.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change without notice.