Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. TD Securities upped their target price on Louisiana-Pacific from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Louisiana-Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Loop Capital started coverage on Louisiana-Pacific in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Louisiana-Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $89.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Louisiana-Pacific from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.50.

Louisiana-Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LPX traded up $3.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $84.16. 890,578 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 953,540. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $86.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.84. The company has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Louisiana-Pacific has a 12-month low of $49.47 and a 12-month high of $95.70.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The building manufacturing company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $724.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.84 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 20.87% and a net margin of 9.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Louisiana-Pacific will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Louisiana-Pacific

In other news, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 3,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.18, for a total transaction of $320,245.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,501 shares in the company, valued at $2,095,819.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 258.5% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 441 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 57.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 486 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. 94.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.