Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stake in Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 302,260 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 13,334 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Owens Corning were worth $44,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 156.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,487,665 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,932,000 after purchasing an additional 906,782 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Owens Corning by 6,116.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 832,594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $123,415,000 after acquiring an additional 819,201 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Owens Corning by 1,602.4% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 475,539 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $64,868,000 after purchasing an additional 447,606 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Owens Corning by 226.1% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 164,252 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,406,000 after purchasing an additional 113,890 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Owens Corning by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 717,743 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,556,000 after purchasing an additional 94,185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OC. Argus raised their price objective on Owens Corning from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Owens Corning from $150.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $169.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lowered shares of Owens Corning from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $170.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $154.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Owens Corning presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Paula Russell sold 3,765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total transaction of $609,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,307,878. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Owens Corning news, EVP Paula Russell sold 3,765 shares of Owens Corning stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total value of $609,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,307,878. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Chambers sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $1,397,487.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,417,214.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,672 shares of company stock worth $3,325,799 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Owens Corning Price Performance

NYSE OC opened at $171.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.76. The company has a market capitalization of $14.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.52 and a 200 day moving average of $146.78. Owens Corning has a one year low of $103.41 and a one year high of $173.65.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.55. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 26.52% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Owens Corning will post 14.74 EPS for the current year.

Owens Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Owens Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.43%.

Owens Corning Profile

Owens Corning manufactures and sells building and construction materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Roofing, Insulation, and Composites. The Roofing segment manufactures and sells laminate and strip asphalt roofing shingles, oxidized asphalt materials, and roofing components used in residential and commercial construction, and specialty applications.