Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,510,000 shares, an increase of 41.1% from the May 15th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Owens Corning from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI set a $165.00 price objective on Owens Corning in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Owens Corning from $235.00 to $218.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Owens Corning in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $200.00 to $176.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Owens Corning

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Owens Corning by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Owens Corning by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 236 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Owens Corning by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 464 shares of the construction company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 88.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Owens Corning Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:OC traded up $1.97 during trading on Monday, hitting $136.46. 795,818 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 856,936. The company has a market cap of $11.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.34. Owens Corning has a 52 week low of $123.41 and a 52 week high of $214.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $138.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.86.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 9.92% and a return on equity of 25.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Owens Corning will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 14th that permits the company to repurchase 12,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Owens Corning

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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