Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Louisiana-Pacific has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 11 covering firms, with nine buy ratings and two hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $97.25.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, earning $0.38 per share versus the $0.14 estimate, while revenue came in slightly above forecasts at $574 million. However, revenue was still down 20.7% from the same quarter a year earlier.
• Louisiana-Pacific also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.7%. The payout ratio is high at 101.69%, which may be a point for investors to watch.

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.25.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities upgraded shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $115.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Louisiana-Pacific Trading Up 0.5%

LPX stock opened at $70.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Louisiana-Pacific has a twelve month low of $66.12 and a twelve month high of $102.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.60. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $73.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.56.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $574.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $569.99 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 7.03%. The business's revenue was down 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Louisiana-Pacific will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Louisiana-Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Louisiana-Pacific's dividend payout ratio is 101.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lizanne M. Bruce sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total value of $102,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,348,604.40. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Louisiana-Pacific

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 12.0% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 840,500 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $74,670,000 after buying an additional 90,388 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 48.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 95,161 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $8,454,000 after buying an additional 31,244 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 1.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,549,853 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $137,666,000 after buying an additional 28,535 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 7.9% during the third quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,115,959 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $276,822,000 after buying an additional 228,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 27.5% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 57,876 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $5,142,000 after buying an additional 12,490 shares during the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Louisiana-Pacific Company Profile

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation NYSE: LPX is a leading manufacturer of building materials and engineered wood products for residential, industrial and light commercial construction. The company produces a diverse portfolio of products, including oriented strand board (OSB), engineered wood siding, trim, molding, sheathing panels and subflooring. Its flagship product lines, such as LP® SmartSide® trim and siding, are designed to offer enhanced durability, moisture resistance and ease of installation, helping builders and homeowners achieve long-lasting performance in a variety of climates.

Founded in 1973 as a spin-off from Georgia-Pacific, Louisiana-Pacific established its reputation by pioneering innovative manufacturing techniques for OSB, becoming one of the first companies to bring the product to market in the 1980s.

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