Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $198.99 and last traded at $198.68, with a volume of 57263 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $195.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on OC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Owens Corning from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Owens Corning from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Owens Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Owens Corning in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.62.

Owens Corning Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.55.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The construction company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.33. Owens Corning had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 25.82%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. Owens Corning’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Owens Corning will post 15.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Owens Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Owens Corning

In other news, insider Marcio A. Sandri sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $518,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,222,100. This trade represents a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Owens Corning by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,587 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Owens Corning by 23.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,756 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,197,000 after purchasing an additional 23,787 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Owens Corning in the 3rd quarter worth $616,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Owens Corning by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 39,776 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,021,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Owens Corning by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,391 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,248,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. 88.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.