Masco (NYSE:MAS) Shares Gap Down to $73.01

Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $73.01, but opened at $70.05. Masco shares last traded at $70.01, with a volume of 899,138 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Masco in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.62.

Masco Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.72.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.06. Masco had a return on equity of 3,111.50% and a net margin of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $2,703,076.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares in the company, valued at $4,395,765.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Masco news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $3,249,270.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,778.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $2,703,076.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,762 shares of company stock worth $6,337,597. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Masco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Masco by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,787,414 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,378,337,000 after buying an additional 298,116 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in Masco by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,769,194 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $654,341,000 after buying an additional 140,334 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,180,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $615,282,000 after purchasing an additional 159,052 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,574,976 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $373,411,000 after purchasing an additional 254,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,934,986 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $210,325,000 after purchasing an additional 145,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

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.