Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a neutral rating to a sell rating and cut their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Louisiana-Pacific from $98.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Louisiana-Pacific from $83.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. They issued a hold rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Louisiana-Pacific has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $90.50.

Louisiana-Pacific Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of LPX opened at $84.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.89. Louisiana-Pacific has a 12 month low of $49.47 and a 12 month high of $95.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $86.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.84. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The building manufacturing company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.40. Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 20.87% and a net margin of 9.74%. The business had revenue of $724.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $686.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Louisiana-Pacific will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Louisiana-Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Louisiana-Pacific’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 3,591 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.18, for a total value of $320,245.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,501 shares in the company, valued at $2,095,819.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Louisiana-Pacific

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPX. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Louisiana-Pacific during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in Louisiana-Pacific during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 258.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 441 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 57.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 486 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

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.