Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in Masco Corporation $MAS

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 730,589 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,448,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Masco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,939,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Masco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $597,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Masco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Masco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $605,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in Masco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,952,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $73.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.30. Masco Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.16 and a 1 year high of $83.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.32. Masco had a return on equity of 2,379.08% and a net margin of 11.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Masco has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Masco Corporation will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

Masco announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MAS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Masco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Masco from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore cut shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Masco from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Masco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.88.

Masco Profile

Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company has evolved from a small door‐bell manufacturer into a diversified enterprise serving both residential and commercial markets. Over its history, Masco has grown through a combination of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions, building a portfolio of well-recognized brands.

The company’s product offerings are organized into two primary segments.