Loop Capital Cuts Masco (NYSE:MAS) Price Target to $76.00

Masco (NYSE:MAS) had its price target decreased by Loop Capital from $79.00 to $76.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on MAS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Masco from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered Masco from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $72.15.

Masco Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of MAS stock opened at $69.85 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.25. Masco has a fifty-two week low of $47.66 and a fifty-two week high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. Masco had a return on equity of 865.37% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Masco will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value of $385,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Masco news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value of $385,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $3,249,270.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,778.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Masco

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $122,144,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the first quarter worth approximately $78,181,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Masco by 15.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,320,936 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $284,404,000 after buying an additional 711,988 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Masco by 1,307.8% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 686,794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,708,000 after buying an additional 638,010 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Masco by 443.5% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 502,157 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,829,000 after buying an additional 409,767 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.