Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $69.34 and last traded at $69.7040, with a volume of 362366 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LPX. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Louisiana-Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.83.

Louisiana-Pacific Trading Down 3.2%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.78. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.78.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $567.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.96 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 10.72%. Louisiana-Pacific’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Louisiana-Pacific Corporation will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Louisiana-Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Louisiana-Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 53.59%.

Insider Transactions at Louisiana-Pacific

In other news, CEO William Bradley Southern sold 14,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.29, for a total transaction of $1,264,882.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 461,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,226,889.51. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director F Nicholas Grasberger III bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.49 per share, with a total value of $1,709,800.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 38,954 shares in the company, valued at $3,330,177.46. The trade was a 105.52% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,310 shares of company stock worth $10,235,781. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Louisiana-Pacific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 497 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 3,139 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 11,524 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 6,877 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,600 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

About Louisiana-Pacific

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE: LPX) is a leading manufacturer of building materials and engineered wood products for residential, industrial and light commercial construction. The company produces a diverse portfolio of products, including oriented strand board (OSB), engineered wood siding, trim, molding, sheathing panels and subflooring. Its flagship product lines, such as LP® SmartSide® trim and siding, are designed to offer enhanced durability, moisture resistance and ease of installation, helping builders and homeowners achieve long-lasting performance in a variety of climates.

Founded in 1973 as a spin-off from Georgia-Pacific, Louisiana-Pacific established its reputation by pioneering innovative manufacturing techniques for OSB, becoming one of the first companies to bring the product to market in the 1980s.