Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Hits New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $84.81 and last traded at $84.13, with a volume of 1109044 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.97.

The building manufacturing company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $724.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $686.84 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 15.65% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS.

Louisiana-Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPX has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Louisiana-Pacific from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Louisiana-Pacific from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Louisiana-Pacific

In related news, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 2,500 shares of Louisiana-Pacific stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $193,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,995 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,692.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPX. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in Louisiana-Pacific by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,056,991 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $145,697,000 after buying an additional 491,641 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Louisiana-Pacific by 83.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,563,117 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $110,717,000 after purchasing an additional 712,671 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,136,025 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $80,465,000 after buying an additional 103,249 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Louisiana-Pacific in the fourth quarter worth $73,662,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Louisiana-Pacific by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 796,563 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $44,026,000 after purchasing an additional 291,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Louisiana-Pacific Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49 and a beta of 1.87.

About Louisiana-Pacific

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides building solutions primarily for use in new home construction, repair and remodeling, and outdoor structure markets. It operates through Siding, Oriented Strand Board, LP South America, and Other segments. The Siding segment offers LP SmartSide trim and siding products, LP SmartSide ExpertFinish trim and siding products, LP BuilderSeries lap siding products, and LP Outdoor Building Solutions; and engineered wood siding, trim, soffit, and fascia products.