Owens Corning Inc $OC Stake Lessened by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Owens Corning by 17.6% in the first quarter, now holding 562,164 shares valued at approximately $78.3 million.
• Owens Corning recently reported earnings of $4.21 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and generating $2.75 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 10% year-over-year.
• The company's board authorized a share buyback plan allowing the repurchase of up to 12 million shares, signaling confidence in the stock's value.

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Owens Corning Inc (NYSE:OC - Free Report) by 17.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 562,164 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 120,005 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Owens Corning worth $78,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Owens Corning by 12.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,815,685 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,401,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,855 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Owens Corning by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,380,123 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $339,930,000 after buying an additional 957,295 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Owens Corning by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,476,067 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $210,812,000 after acquiring an additional 27,185 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 865,665 shares of the construction company's stock worth $123,634,000 after acquiring an additional 5,819 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Owens Corning by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 739,669 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $125,980,000 after purchasing an additional 12,394 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OC has been the topic of a number of recent 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Owens Corning from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Owens Corning from $167.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Owens Corning from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Owens Corning from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.60.

Owens Corning Stock Up 2.5%

Owens Corning stock traded up $3.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $152.91. 889,234 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 928,714. The company has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 39.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.32. Owens Corning Inc has a fifty-two week low of $123.40 and a fifty-two week high of $214.53. The company's fifty day moving average price is $146.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Owens Corning Inc will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Owens Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.69%.

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