Metis Global Partners LLC Lowers Position in Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its stake in Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,478 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Owens Corning were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of OC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Owens Corning by 113.9% in 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 during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Owens Corning by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,854,100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $327,286,000 after purchasing an additional 261,564 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP bought a new position in Owens Corning in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,559,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Owens Corning by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,148,610 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $366,166,000 after purchasing an additional 238,694 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Owens Corning by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 824,013 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $145,455,000 after purchasing an additional 197,667 shares during the period. 88.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on OC shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Owens Corning from $245.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Owens Corning from $224.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Owens Corning from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Owens Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Owens Corning from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.18.

Owens Corning Stock Performance

Shares of OC opened at $148.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.44. Owens Corning has a 52-week low of $140.94 and a 52-week high of $214.53.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 25.82% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Owens Corning will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Owens Corning’s payout ratio is currently 37.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Owens Corning

In related news, insider Monaco Nicolas Del sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.97, for a total transaction of $321,947.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Gunner Smith sold 17,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,336,265.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,990.54. This represents a 48.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Owens Corning Profile

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.