Loop Capital Trims Masco (NYSE:MAS) Target Price to $76.00

Masco (NYSE:MAS) had its price objective cut by Loop Capital from $79.00 to $76.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MAS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Masco from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Masco from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Masco in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $71.07.

Masco Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Masco stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $69.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 916,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,061. The company has a market capitalization of $15.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.76. Masco has a one year low of $47.66 and a one year high of $78.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 865.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Masco will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco 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 transaction of $2,703,076.50. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value of $385,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,762 shares of company stock worth $6,337,597 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MAS. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Masco by 62.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 354 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 70.1% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Masco by 270.6% during the 3rd quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 667 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Masco during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 91.7% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 575 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.