Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 5,916 Shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Free Report) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,672 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 5,916 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.23% of Owens Corning worth $34,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its stake in Owens Corning by 3.1% during the third quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the construction company's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the construction company's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Tobam increased its position in shares of Owens Corning by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 265 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Owens Corning by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 3,658 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its position in Owens Corning by 1.5% in the third quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 5,432 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.40% of the company's stock.

Owens Corning Trading Down 1.5 %

OC traded down $2.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $191.40. 614,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 692,177. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $191.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.95. Owens Corning has a one year low of $138.70 and a one year high of $214.53.

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

Owens Corning Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. This is an increase from Owens Corning's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Owens Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OC. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $197.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Owens Corning from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Owens Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Owens Corning news, insider Marcio A. Sandri sold 3,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.50, for a total value of $538,501.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,079 shares in the company, valued at $10,074,443.50. This represents a 5.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

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.