Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Owens Corning Inc (NYSE:OC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Owens Corning Inc (NYSE:OC - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 393,768 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Owens Corning worth $56,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OC. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Owens Corning by 195.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 239 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Owens Corning by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 339 shares of the construction company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Owens Corning by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 464 shares of the construction company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 733 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 88.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Owens Corning Price Performance

Shares of OC stock traded up $0.87 on Tuesday, reaching $143.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 27,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 858,610. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Owens Corning Inc has a 12-month low of $123.41 and a 12-month high of $214.53. The company has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.29, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $138.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.24.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The construction company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.15. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 25.03% and a net margin of 2.28%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Owens Corning Inc will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Owens Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Owens Corning from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI set a $165.00 price objective on Owens Corning in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Owens Corning from $235.00 to $218.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Owens Corning from $179.00 to $167.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Owens Corning from $203.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $184.30.

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.