Evercore ISI Cuts Masco (NYSE:MAS) Price Target to $71.00

Masco (NYSE:MAS) had its target price cut by Evercore ISI from $82.00 to $71.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.10.

Masco Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE MAS opened at $60.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $68.19 and its 200-day moving average is $74.94. Masco has a one year low of $56.55 and a one year high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Masco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Masco by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,147,000 after purchasing an additional 56,626 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Masco by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 219,120 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,135,000 after buying an additional 13,568 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Masco by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Masco by 5,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,300 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 10,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Masco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,737,000 after acquiring an additional 20,129 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Masco

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.