Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

OC has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Owens Corning from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $192.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Owens Corning from $245.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Owens Corning from $189.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Owens Corning from $212.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.00.

Owens Corning Stock Down 1.6 %

OC opened at $151.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Owens Corning has a one year low of $148.62 and a one year high of $214.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $175.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.65.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 25.82% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Owens Corning will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Owens Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Owens Corning

In related news, insider Gunner Smith sold 17,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,336,265.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,990.54. The trade was a 48.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Monaco Nicolas Del sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.97, for a total value of $321,947.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,140,490.95. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Owens Corning

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Owens Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $208,519,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Owens Corning by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 797,743 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $140,818,000 after purchasing an additional 424,786 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Owens Corning by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,422,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $242,337,000 after buying an additional 414,770 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Owens Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $51,400,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Owens Corning during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,220,000. Institutional investors own 88.40% of the company’s stock.

About Owens Corning

Owens Corning manufactures and sells building and construction materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Roofing, Insulation, and Composites. The Roofing segment manufactures and sells laminate and strip asphalt roofing shingles, oxidized asphalt materials, and roofing components used in residential and commercial construction, and specialty applications.