HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX) by 62.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,269 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock after selling 22,161 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Louisiana-Pacific were worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPX. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Louisiana-Pacific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,171,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,666 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 96,557 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $10,288,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $1,223,000. Finally, Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in Louisiana-Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $298,000. 94.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Louisiana-Pacific Stock Performance

LPX stock opened at $95.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.58. Louisiana-Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $71.39 and a 12-month high of $122.87. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The building manufacturing company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.24. Louisiana-Pacific had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 25.35%. The firm had revenue of $681.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $666.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Louisiana-Pacific Co. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Louisiana-Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Louisiana-Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Louisiana-Pacific from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Louisiana-Pacific from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Louisiana-Pacific from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.50.

About Louisiana-Pacific

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides building solutions primarily for use in new home construction, repair and remodeling, and outdoor structure markets. It operates through Siding, Oriented Strand Board, LP South America, and Other segments. The Siding segment offers LP SmartSide trim and siding products, LP SmartSide ExpertFinish trim and siding products, LP BuilderSeries lap siding products, and LP Outdoor Building Solutions; and engineered wood siding, trim, soffit, and fascia products.