Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $178.00 to $198.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Owens Corning traded as high as $192.12 and last traded at $192.11, with a volume of 128789 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $187.42.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on OC. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Owens Corning from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Owens Corning from $197.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised Owens Corning from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $178.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Owens Corning presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $192.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marcio A. Sandri sold 3,051 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,074,443.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,074,443.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Marcio A. Sandri sold 3,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $518,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,222,100. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OC. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,300 shares of the construction company's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Owens Corning during the 3rd quarter valued at about $607,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in Owens Corning by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 7,819 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Owens Corning in the third quarter worth approximately $736,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Owens Corning by 14.6% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. 88.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Owens Corning Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $175.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The construction company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Owens Corning had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 25.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Owens Corning will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Owens Corning's payout ratio is 20.43%.

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.