Raymond James Financial Inc. Sells 25,251 Shares of Owens Corning Inc $OC

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Owens Corning by 8.4%, selling 25,251 shares and now holding 275,477 shares worth approximately $39.34 million.
• Owens Corning reported strong quarterly results with an EPS of $4.21, exceeding estimates, and achieved a revenue of $2.75 billion, up 10% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a stock repurchase plan for up to 12 million shares, indicating leadership's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its position in Owens Corning Inc (NYSE:OC - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 275,477 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 25,251 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Owens Corning worth $39,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 12.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,053,855 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Owens Corning during the first quarter valued at $91,698,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,422,828 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $242,337,000 after acquiring an additional 414,770 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Owens Corning during the fourth quarter valued at $51,400,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 75.2% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 634,783 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $90,659,000 after acquiring an additional 272,367 shares during the period. 88.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Owens Corning Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of OC opened at $155.6950 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Owens Corning Inc has a 12-month low of $123.40 and a 12-month high of $214.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $142.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.04.

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

Owens Corning declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that permits the company to buyback 12,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Owens Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Owens Corning's dividend payout ratio is 71.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on OC shares. Loop Capital cut 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. Wolfe Research raised Owens Corning from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays increased their target price on Owens Corning from $167.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Owens Corning from $218.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.60.

Owens Corning 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.

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