Masco (NYSE:MAS) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Masco (NYSE:MAS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on MAS. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $72.15.

Masco Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MAS stock opened at $69.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.47. Masco has a one year low of $47.66 and a one year high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. Masco had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 865.37%. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Masco’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Masco will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Masco news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $3,249,270.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,778.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,778.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $2,703,076.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Masco by 4,545.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in shares of Masco by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,354 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Masco by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 25,032 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 5,076 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co lifted its position in Masco by 0.7% during the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 474,038 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,392,000 after acquiring an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Masco by 1.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,979,524 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $155,472,000 after acquiring an additional 22,167 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.