StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ:BECN)

Stock analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ:BECN) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BECN. Baird R W downgraded shares of Beacon Roofing Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Zelman & Associates cut shares of Beacon Roofing Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.10.

Beacon Roofing Supply Trading Up 1.2 %

BECN opened at $123.00 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $119.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Beacon Roofing Supply has a 12 month low of $77.54 and a 12 month high of $123.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 1.31.

Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ:BECN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.01). Beacon Roofing Supply had a return on equity of 25.32% and a net margin of 3.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Beacon Roofing Supply will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan Stuart Bennett sold 8,487 shares of Beacon Roofing Supply stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total transaction of $1,036,602.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,765,493.88. The trade was a 27.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Carl Nelson sold 16,595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.61, for a total transaction of $2,051,307.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,231.43. The trade was a 97.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,806 shares of company stock worth $6,745,448. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Beacon Roofing Supply

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BECN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Beacon Roofing Supply in the 4th quarter valued at $94,573,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply during the 4th quarter worth about $68,588,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Beacon Roofing Supply by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 2,384,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,247,000 after purchasing an additional 329,047 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Beacon Roofing Supply by 253.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 424,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,118,000 after purchasing an additional 304,287 shares during the period. Finally, Spruce House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 146.3% during the 4th quarter. Spruce House Investment Management LLC now owns 500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,790,000 after buying an additional 297,000 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Beacon Roofing Supply

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of residential and non-residential roofing materials, and complementary building products to contractors, home builders, building owners, lumberyards, and retailers in the United States and Canada. The company offers pitched roofing and low slope roof products; gutters and sidings; building materials, such as lumber and composite, skylights and window, plywood and OSB, decking and railing, and HVAC products; and foam board, spray foam, roll, batt, mineral wool, fiberglass, and commercial insulation products, as well as radiant barriers and blown-in insulation and equipment.