Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $105.8333.

A number of research firms have issued reports on LPX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th.

Louisiana-Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of Louisiana-Pacific stock opened at $70.85 on Friday. Louisiana-Pacific has a 52 week low of $69.63 and a 52 week high of $102.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.42. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.78.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $567.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.96 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 5.39%.Louisiana-Pacific’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Louisiana-Pacific will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Louisiana-Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Louisiana-Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lizanne M. Bruce sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total transaction of $102,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,604.40. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Bradley Southern sold 14,166 shares of Louisiana-Pacific stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.29, for a total value of $1,264,882.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 461,719 shares in the company, valued at $41,226,889.51. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,310 shares of company stock worth $10,235,781. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Louisiana-Pacific

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPX. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 128.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $16,259,000 after acquiring an additional 99,455 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Louisiana-Pacific in the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 7.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 274,776 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $25,274,000 after purchasing an additional 18,413 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Louisiana-Pacific by 207.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,219 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 19,029 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Louisiana-Pacific by 15.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 225,565 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $20,747,000 after purchasing an additional 29,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Louisiana-Pacific Company Profile

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE: LPX) is a leading manufacturer of building materials and engineered wood products for residential, industrial and light commercial construction. The company produces a diverse portfolio of products, including oriented strand board (OSB), engineered wood siding, trim, molding, sheathing panels and subflooring. Its flagship product lines, such as LP® SmartSide® trim and siding, are designed to offer enhanced durability, moisture resistance and ease of installation, helping builders and homeowners achieve long-lasting performance in a variety of climates.

Founded in 1973 as a spin-off from Georgia-Pacific, Louisiana-Pacific established its reputation by pioneering innovative manufacturing techniques for OSB, becoming one of the first companies to bring the product to market in the 1980s.