Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Boosts Position in Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) by 76.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,500 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in Owens Corning were worth $3,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Owens Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $208,519,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Owens Corning by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,422,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $242,337,000 after acquiring an additional 414,770 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Owens Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $51,400,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Owens Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $51,220,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Owens Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $41,252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.40% of the company’s stock.

Owens Corning Stock Performance

NYSE:OC opened at $133.92 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $140.61 and its 200 day moving average is $164.89. Owens Corning has a fifty-two week low of $123.41 and a fifty-two week high of $214.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The construction company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.15. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 25.82% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.40 EPS. Owens Corning’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Owens Corning will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Owens Corning announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 14th that allows the company to repurchase 12,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OC. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Owens Corning from $203.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Owens Corning from $199.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Owens Corning in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Owens Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $165.00 price objective on Owens Corning in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.80.

Owens Corning Company Profile

Owens Corning manufactures and sells building and construction materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Roofing, Insulation, and Composites. The Roofing segment manufactures and sells laminate and strip asphalt roofing shingles, oxidized asphalt materials, and roofing components used in residential and commercial construction, and specialty applications.