Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.32.

MAS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Masco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Masco by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $864,103,000 after acquiring an additional 194,297 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,129,771 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $371,265,000 after purchasing an additional 58,739 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,900,643 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $283,070,000 after purchasing an additional 337,164 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Masco by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,881,000 after purchasing an additional 299,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Masco by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after buying an additional 520,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of MAS opened at $72.58 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $76.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.82. The company has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco has a fifty-two week low of $63.81 and a fifty-two week high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Research analysts predict that Masco will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.98%.

About Masco

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.