Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Sets New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Louisiana-Pacific shares hit a new 52-week low, falling to $64.49 and trading below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Despite the decline, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 12 Buy ratings and an average price target of $93.67 versus the current price near $65.83.
• Recent operating results were weak: quarterly EPS came in at $0.40, below the $0.56 estimate, while revenue fell 12.1% year over year. The company continues to pay a $0.30 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.8%.

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $64.49 and last traded at $65.8310, with a volume of 1148650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on LPX shares. Barclays cut their price target on Louisiana-Pacific from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD boosted their target price on Louisiana-Pacific from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $91.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Louisiana-Pacific has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.67.

Louisiana-Pacific Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.36, a PEG ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company's fifty day moving average price is $71.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.53.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.16). Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 4.67% and a net margin of 2.19%.The company had revenue of $664.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $667.31 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Louisiana-Pacific Corporation will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Louisiana-Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Louisiana-Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 151.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Louisiana-Pacific

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific in the 2nd quarter valued at $506,638,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific during the 2nd quarter worth $445,593,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 306.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,273,497 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock worth $102,848,000 after buying an additional 960,000 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 4,048,136 shares of the building manufacturing company's stock valued at $326,927,000 after buying an additional 932,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new stake in Louisiana-Pacific in the first quarter valued at about $56,596,000. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Louisiana-Pacific

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, operating as LP Building Solutions, manufactures building products used in residential, repair and remodeling, and commercial construction. Its portfolio includes oriented strand board (OSB) structural panels, siding, trim, and related engineered wood products designed for walls, roofs, floors, and exterior applications.

The company's principal brands include LP SmartSide siding and trim, which are engineered wood products for residential and light-commercial exteriors, and LP Structural Solutions products, including OSB panels and specialty sheathing.

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