Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on OC. Argus upped their price target on Owens Corning from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $187.00 target price on shares of Owens Corning in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Owens Corning from $192.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Owens Corning in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a buy rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $154.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Owens Corning presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $179.00.

Owens Corning Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of OC opened at $173.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.46. Owens Corning has a 1 year low of $109.95 and a 1 year high of $184.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.67.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.55. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 26.52% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Owens Corning will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Owens Corning’s dividend payout ratio is 19.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd W. Fister sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.85, for a total value of $542,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,262,112.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Todd W. Fister sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.85, for a total value of $542,550.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,262,112.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mari Doerfler sold 240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.05, for a total value of $43,692.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,875.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,360 shares of company stock valued at $2,916,365 in the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Paralel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Owens Corning by 1.1% during the third quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 19,963 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,723,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Owens Corning by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 103,138 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,069,000 after acquiring an additional 11,097 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Owens Corning by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Owens Corning by 11.2% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 15,949 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares during the last quarter. 88.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Owens Corning Company 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.