Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays has raised the price target for Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) from $167.00 to $173.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.48% from its previous close.
• Owens Corning reported earnings of $4.21 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.41 and showing a 10% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company has a current average target price of $184.90, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, reflecting a strong interest in its stock.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Barclays from $167.00 to $173.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the construction company's stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 20.22% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on OC. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $235.00 to $218.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Owens Corning in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $199.00 to $184.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Owens Corning from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Owens Corning has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $184.60.

Owens Corning Price Performance

Shares of OC stock traded down $3.27 on Thursday, reaching $143.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 778,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 815,397. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Owens Corning has a 12-month low of $123.40 and a 12-month high of $214.53. The company has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $140.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.56.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.41. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 24.49% and a net margin of 2.98%. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Owens Corning will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase 12,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Owens Corning

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OC. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new position in Owens Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $28,651,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 153.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 148,284 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,256,000 after acquiring an additional 89,825 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 194,032 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Owens Corning during the 4th quarter worth approximately $247,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Owens Corning by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 17,143 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the period. 88.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.