Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $112.94, but opened at $105.99. Louisiana-Pacific shares last traded at $104.33, with a volume of 138,773 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPX has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $123.00 to $117.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.00.

Louisiana-Pacific Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.52 and a 200-day moving average of $106.44.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The building manufacturing company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.24. Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $681.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $666.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Louisiana-Pacific’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Louisiana-Pacific Co. will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Louisiana-Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from Louisiana-Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 17.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Louisiana-Pacific news, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total transaction of $283,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,513 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,225.50. This represents a 11.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 21,045 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 5,645 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 269.7% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 41,698 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $4,318,000 after acquiring an additional 30,418 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 238.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,881 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 14,001 shares in the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. acquired a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific during the 4th quarter worth about $259,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,381 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,907 shares in the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Louisiana-Pacific Company Profile

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.