Loop Capital Trims Masco (NYSE:MAS) Target Price to $76.00

Masco (NYSE:MAS) had its price target reduced by Loop Capital from $79.00 to $76.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Masco from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Masco in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $72.15.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $69.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.07. Masco has a 52-week low of $47.66 and a 52-week high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 865.37%. Masco’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Masco will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $2,703,076.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 58,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $2,703,076.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares in the company, valued at $4,395,765.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,762 shares of company stock worth $6,337,597 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Masco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MAS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,144,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Masco during the first quarter valued at approximately $78,181,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 15.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,320,936 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,404,000 after purchasing an additional 711,988 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 1,307.8% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 686,794 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,708,000 after purchasing an additional 638,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 443.5% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 502,157 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,829,000 after purchasing an additional 409,767 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Masco Company Profile

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.