Masco (NYSE:MAS) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $63.12 and last traded at $63.56, with a volume of 1059015 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Masco in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.30.

Masco Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s payout ratio is 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Masco

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Masco by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 465,848 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,103,000 after buying an additional 40,731 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 8.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,215 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Masco by 43.1% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 38,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 11,637 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $741,000. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 172,281 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $14,461,000 after purchasing an additional 18,495 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Masco Company Profile

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.