Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Sets New 12-Month High at $84.81

Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $84.81 and last traded at $84.13, with a volume of 1109044 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on LPX shares. TD Securities upped their price objective on Louisiana-Pacific from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Loop Capital started coverage on Louisiana-Pacific in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Louisiana-Pacific from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, TheStreet cut Louisiana-Pacific from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.75.

Louisiana-Pacific Stock Up 20.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.13.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $658.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.60 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 15.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Louisiana-Pacific Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Louisiana-Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Louisiana-Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Louisiana-Pacific's payout ratio is 42.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $193,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,016,692.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Louisiana-Pacific

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 80,596 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $6,763,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,461 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $1,020,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 28,499 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $2,019,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,907 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $5,027,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company's stock.

About Louisiana-Pacific

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides building solutions primarily for use in new home construction, repair and remodeling, and outdoor structure markets. It operates through Siding, Oriented Strand Board, LP South America, and Other segments. The Siding segment offers LP SmartSide trim and siding products, LP SmartSide ExpertFinish trim and siding products, LP BuilderSeries lap siding products, and LP Outdoor Building Solutions; and engineered wood siding, trim, soffit, and fascia products.