Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ:BECN) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 6,999,266 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 800% from the previous session’s volume of 777,486 shares.The stock last traded at $123.82 and had previously closed at $121.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BECN. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Beacon Roofing Supply from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on Beacon Roofing Supply in a report on Monday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Zelman & Associates downgraded Beacon Roofing Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Beacon Roofing Supply from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $131.00 to $122.55 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Beacon Roofing Supply has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.95.

Beacon Roofing Supply Trading Up 1.9 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 1.63.

Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ:BECN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Beacon Roofing Supply had a return on equity of 25.32% and a net margin of 3.86%. As a group, research analysts expect that Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 615,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,489,000 after purchasing an additional 11,426 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,441,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply during the 4th quarter worth about $24,162,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Beacon Roofing Supply by 272.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 122,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,547,000 after purchasing an additional 89,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Beacon Roofing Supply by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,014,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,011,000 after purchasing an additional 20,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

About Beacon Roofing Supply

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of residential and non-residential roofing materials, and complementary building products to contractors, home builders, building owners, lumberyards, and retailers in the United States and Canada. The company offers pitched roofing and low slope roof products; gutters and sidings; building materials, such as lumber and composite, skylights and window, plywood and OSB, decking and railing, and HVAC products; and foam board, spray foam, roll, batt, mineral wool, fiberglass, and commercial insulation products, as well as radiant barriers and blown-in insulation and equipment.