Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.75.

Several brokerages recently commented on LPX. Loop Capital began coverage on Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. TheStreet cut Louisiana-Pacific from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Louisiana-Pacific from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Thursday, January 11th.

Insider Transactions at Louisiana-Pacific

In other news, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $193,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,995 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,692.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Louisiana-Pacific

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 120.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,991 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 106.0% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 9,769 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 5,027 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Louisiana-Pacific during the 1st quarter worth $469,000. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new position in Louisiana-Pacific during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Louisiana-Pacific during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Louisiana-Pacific Stock Up 0.6 %

LPX stock opened at $74.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33 and a beta of 1.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.05 and a 200-day moving average of $68.67. Louisiana-Pacific has a fifty-two week low of $49.47 and a fifty-two week high of $84.54.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 15.65% and a net margin of 6.90%. The firm had revenue of $658.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $618.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Louisiana-Pacific will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Louisiana-Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from Louisiana-Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.45%.

Louisiana-Pacific Company Profile

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides building solutions primarily for use in new home construction, repair and remodeling, and outdoor structure markets. It operates through Siding, Oriented Strand Board, LP South America, and Other segments. The Siding segment offers LP SmartSide trim and siding products, LP SmartSide ExpertFinish trim and siding products, LP BuilderSeries lap siding products, and LP Outdoor Building Solutions; and engineered wood siding, trim, soffit, and fascia products.