Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Masco (NYSE:MAS) Price Target to $80.00

Masco (NYSE:MAS) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $73.00 to $80.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on MAS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer set a $79.00 price target on shares of Masco and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Masco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $73.00 price target (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Masco in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Masco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.60.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $75.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.19. Masco has a 52 week low of $56.55 and a 52 week high of $86.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.22 and a 200-day moving average of $67.06.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 1,519.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Masco has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Masco will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 2,431 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.62, for a total transaction of $181,401.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,126.32. The trade was a 16.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 82,910 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total transaction of $6,304,476.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,638 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,073.52. This represents a 67.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Masco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 22,673 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Masco during the 2nd quarter worth $565,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Masco by 99.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,383 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 4,682 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Masco by 79.1% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.