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

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

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $124.35 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Baird R W lowered Beacon Roofing Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Beacon Roofing Supply from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $124.35 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.78.

Beacon Roofing Supply Price Performance

NASDAQ BECN opened at $124.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.04. Beacon Roofing Supply has a 52-week low of $77.54 and a 52-week high of $124.31.

Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ:BECN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Beacon Roofing Supply had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 25.32%. Equities research analysts predict that Beacon Roofing Supply will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Beacon Roofing Supply

In other Beacon Roofing Supply news, EVP Christopher Carl Nelson sold 16,595 shares of the company’s 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 $57,231.43. This represents a 97.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Stuart Bennett sold 8,487 shares of Beacon Roofing Supply stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total value of $1,036,602.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,642 shares in the company, valued at $2,765,493.88. The trade was a 27.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,806 shares of company stock worth $6,745,448 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Beacon Roofing Supply by 133.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Beacon Roofing Supply in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Beacon Roofing Supply by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 591 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 720 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is owned by 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.