Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Trims Stock Position in Owens Corning Inc (NYSE:OC)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB reduced its position in Owens Corning by 18.0%, holding approximately 475,604 shares valued at $67.93 million.
• Owens Corning reported quarterly earnings of $2.97 EPS, surpassing estimates by $0.15, with revenues exceeding expectations at $2.53 billion.
• The company's board approved a share repurchase plan for 12 million shares, indicating management's confidence in the stock's valuation.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its position in shares of Owens Corning Inc (NYSE:OC - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 475,604 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 104,600 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.56% of Owens Corning worth $67,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Owens Corning during the 4th quarter valued at about $425,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Owens Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $349,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the construction company's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Owens Corning by 11.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 30,921 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 3,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Owens Corning by 32.0% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 72,848 shares of the construction company's stock worth $10,404,000 after acquiring an additional 17,660 shares during the period. 88.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Owens Corning in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Owens Corning from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $235.00 to $218.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Owens Corning from $199.00 to $184.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.30.

Owens Corning Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE OC traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $145.91. The company had a trading volume of 458,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,147. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.78. Owens Corning Inc has a 52-week low of $123.40 and a 52-week high of $214.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.38, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Owens Corning announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that allows the company to repurchase 12,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Owens Corning's payout ratio is currently 97.18%.

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.