Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.0667.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MAS shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $71.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.34. Masco has a 52 week low of $58.16 and a 52 week high of $79.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $65.33 and a 200 day moving average of $66.12.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 815.20%. Masco’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Masco has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Masco will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 31.76%.

Masco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 747 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.92, for a total transaction of $53,724.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $899,719.20. This represents a 5.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Masco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,371,864 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $278,619,000 after buying an additional 267,012 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the third quarter valued at $16,398,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 33.4% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 62,922 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,429,000 after buying an additional 15,770 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 347.5% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 102,810 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,237,000 after buying an additional 79,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 38.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 110,856 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,803,000 after buying an additional 30,617 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Masco

Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company has evolved from a small door‐bell manufacturer into a diversified enterprise serving both residential and commercial markets. Over its history, Masco has grown through a combination of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions, building a portfolio of well-recognized brands.

The company’s product offerings are organized into two primary segments.