Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Decreases Stock Holdings in Owens Corning Inc $OC

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec has reduced its position in Owens Corning Inc by 62.2%, selling 287,086 shares and now owning 174,308 shares valued at approximately $24.9 million.
• Owens Corning reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.80, with revenue increasing 10.0% year-over-year.
• The company is initiating a stock buyback program to repurchase 12 million shares, indicating that its Board believes the stock is undervalued.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec trimmed its position in Owens Corning Inc (NYSE:OC - Free Report) by 62.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,308 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 287,086 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.20% of Owens Corning worth $24,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Owens Corning during the 1st quarter worth $60,000. Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in Owens Corning by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 660 shares of the construction company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Owens Corning during the 1st quarter worth $100,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Owens Corning by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 786 shares of the construction company's stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Owens Corning by 260.8% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 783 shares of the construction company's stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. 88.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Owens Corning from $218.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Owens Corning from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $167.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $184.60.

Owens Corning Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OC traded down $2.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $150.11. The stock had a trading volume of 870,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,346. The company has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $144.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Owens Corning Inc has a 1 year low of $123.40 and a 1 year high of $214.53.

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

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Owens Corning's payout ratio is currently 71.69%.

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

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.