Royal Bank of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Masco (NYSE:MAS) Stock Price

Masco (NYSE:MAS) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $74.00 to $62.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the construction company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.63% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on MAS. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Masco in a research report on Thursday. Barclays set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Masco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital set a $62.00 target price on shares of Masco and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Masco from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.10.

Masco Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MAS opened at $60.41 on Thursday. Masco has a 1-year low of $56.55 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The company has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.00.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Masco will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Masco by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,129,771 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $371,265,000 after purchasing an additional 58,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,900,643 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $283,070,000 after buying an additional 337,164 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Masco by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,881,000 after buying an additional 299,520 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,063,000 after acquiring an additional 520,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Masco by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,821,629 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $204,766,000 after acquiring an additional 360,931 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Company Profile

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.