Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Louisiana-Pacific a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Of 14 firms covering the stock, 11 rate it a buy, two a hold and one a sell; the average 12-month price target is $88.27.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.39 versus $0.21 forecast and revenue of $691 million versus $671.27 million expected. Revenue rose 4.2% year over year.
• Louisiana-Pacific announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to $1.20 annually and a 1.6% yield.

Shares of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.27.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LPX shares. Weiss Ratings raised Louisiana-Pacific from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $74.00 to $64.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th.

Louisiana-Pacific Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE LPX traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.81. 891,894 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,407,125. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Louisiana-Pacific has a twelve month low of $62.18 and a twelve month high of $100.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.36, a PEG ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 1.67.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The building manufacturing company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $691.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.27 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 4.84% and a net margin of 2.72%. Louisiana-Pacific's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Louisiana-Pacific will post 1.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Louisiana-Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Louisiana-Pacific's dividend payout ratio is presently 122.45%.

Institutional Trading of Louisiana-Pacific

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Louisiana-Pacific during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 204.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 380 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 1,505.4% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 594 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Louisiana-Pacific by 27.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 630 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Louisiana-Pacific by 26.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Louisiana-Pacific

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) manufactures building products for residential construction, repair and remodeling, and light commercial markets. Its portfolio includes engineered wood siding and trim, oriented strand board (OSB) panels, and other structural and specialty building products. The company's products include LP SmartSide siding and trim, LP OSB sheathing, and solutions designed for applications such as radiant heat control and fire-rated construction. LP serves customers primarily in North America and also has operations in South America.

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