Colgate and Kimberly-Clark to Open Near 52-Week Highs

At the end of last week, consumer goods giants Colgate-Palmolive CL and Kimberly-Clark KMB reached new mutliyear highs of $93.73 and $69.88 per share, respectively. Colgate-Palmolive recently said it would buy back 50 million of its shares. The company also completed the acquisition of the Sanex personal care brand from Unilever UL earlier this summer. New York-based Colgate produces oral care products, soaps, deodorants, laundry detergents, pet foods and the like. It has a market cap of $45.6 million. Its dividend yield is 2.5% and the return on equity is 89.1%. The P/E ratio is in line with the industry average and the long-term EPS growth forecast is 9.3%. The share price is more than 24% higher than a year ago, as well as up more than 8% in the past month. The stock has outperformed competitors such as Clorox CLX and Procter & Gamble PG over the past six months. Kimberly-Clark is a Jim Cramer favorite that recently announced it would open product development centers in Colombia and South Korea. Its dividend has averaged 7.7% annual growth over the past five years. Founded in 1872, the Dallas-based company is known for disposable diapers, facial tissues, paper towels and surgical gowns. It sports a market cap of $27.3 billion. Analysts expect revenues to be 6.7% higher in the current quarter. The return on equity is 32.5% and the dividend yield is 4.0%. The P/E ratio is lower than the industry average and forecast to go lower. Shares are trading more than 14% higher year to date and have risen almost 7% in the past month. The stock has also outperformed competitor Procter & Gamble over the past six months.