Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Louisiana-Pacific hit a new 52-week low of $69.34 (last $69.70), trading well below its 50-day ($81.86) and 200-day ($84.17) moving averages.
• Wall Street consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $105.83 (7 Buys, 2 Holds, 1 Sell), implying substantial analyst-implied upside despite recent weakness.
• Recent quarter showed revenue down 16.7% YoY to $567M while EPS of $0.03 topped estimates; the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 (1.7% yield), even as insiders have been selling shares.

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $69.34 and last traded at $69.7040, with a volume of 362366 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LPX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.83.

Louisiana-Pacific Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $81.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.78.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.09. Louisiana-Pacific had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The company had revenue of $567.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Louisiana-Pacific Corporation will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Louisiana-Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Louisiana-Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Louisiana-Pacific's payout ratio is 53.59%.

Insider Activity at Louisiana-Pacific

In related news, Director Lizanne M. Bruce sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 17,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,348,604.40. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Bradley Southern sold 55,346 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.66, for a total transaction of $5,073,014.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 503,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,139,902.46. This trade represents a 9.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,310 shares of company stock valued at $10,235,781. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. North Ridge Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Louisiana-Pacific in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Louisiana-Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Louisiana-Pacific by 34.3% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 497 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Louisiana-Pacific by 291.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 536 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Louisiana-Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company's stock.

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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