Zacks Investment Management Sells 12,400 Shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)

Zacks Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Free Report) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,415 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 12,400 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management owned 0.08% of Owens Corning worth $11,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 23.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,756 shares of the construction company's stock worth $22,197,000 after buying an additional 23,787 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Owens Corning during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $23,002,000. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Owens Corning in the third quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Owens Corning by 5.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 444,748 shares of the construction company's stock worth $83,381,000 after purchasing an additional 22,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Owens Corning by 3.1% during the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Owens Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Owens Corning in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Owens Corning from $200.00 to $176.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Owens Corning from $245.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.58.

Insider Transactions at Owens Corning

In other news, insider Monaco Nicolas Del sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.97, for a total transaction of $321,947.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,635 shares in the company, valued at $2,140,490.95. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Owens Corning Stock Performance

Shares of OC traded up $1.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $136.08. 108,952 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 806,306. Owens Corning has a twelve month low of $123.41 and a twelve month high of $214.53. The company has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.39. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $147.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. Owens Corning had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 25.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Owens Corning will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Owens Corning's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.70%.

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.