Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) Raised to "Overweight" at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $245.00 price target on the construction company's stock, up from their previous price target of $192.00.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on OC. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Owens Corning from $189.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised Owens Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Owens Corning from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Owens Corning from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Owens Corning from $197.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.33.

Owens Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OC traded up $1.66 on Wednesday, reaching $198.58. 1,646,853 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 692,608. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company's 50 day moving average is $189.98 and its 200-day moving average is $177.62. Owens Corning has a fifty-two week low of $138.70 and a fifty-two week high of $214.53.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The construction company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 25.82% and a net margin of 9.92%. Owens Corning's revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Owens Corning will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from Owens Corning's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Owens Corning's dividend payout ratio is 23.49%.

Insider Activity at Owens Corning

In other Owens Corning news, insider Marcio A. Sandri sold 3,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.50, for a total transaction of $538,501.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,079 shares in the company, valued at $10,074,443.50. This trade represents a 5.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Owens Corning

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Owens Corning by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 196,672 shares of the construction company's stock worth $34,717,000 after purchasing an additional 5,916 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Owens Corning by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 444,748 shares of the construction company's stock worth $83,381,000 after buying an additional 22,500 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Owens Corning during the third quarter worth approximately $337,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Owens Corning in the third quarter valued at approximately $23,002,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Owens Corning by 41.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 30,129 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,318,000 after acquiring an additional 8,775 shares during the last quarter. 88.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.