Short Interest in Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) Expands By 47.9%

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 625,900 shares, an increase of 47.9% from the February 28th total of 423,300 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 278,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Armstrong World Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Armstrong World Industries by 4.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 851,620 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $111,954,000 after buying an additional 34,028 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Armstrong World Industries by 89.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,011 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 5,191 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Armstrong World Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $1,035,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Armstrong World Industries by 4.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 472,300 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,074,000 after purchasing an additional 18,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Armstrong World Industries by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,751 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Armstrong World Industries from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Armstrong World Industries from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Armstrong World Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Armstrong World Industries from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.33.

Armstrong World Industries Stock Performance

Shares of AWI traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $140.76. 426,369 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 273,263. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.74. Armstrong World Industries has a 1 year low of $110.68 and a 1 year high of $164.40. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25.

Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The construction company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $367.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.98 million. Armstrong World Industries had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 40.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Armstrong World Industries will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Armstrong World Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.308 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Armstrong World Industries’s payout ratio is 20.40%.

Armstrong World Industries Company Profile

Armstrong World Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of ceiling and wall solutions in the Americas. It operates through Mineral Fiber and Architectural Specialties segments. The company offers mineral fiber, fiberglass wool, metal, wood, felt, wood fiber, and glass-reinforced-gypsum; ceiling component products, such as ceiling perimeters and trims, as well as grid products that support drywall ceiling systems; ceilings, walls, and facades for use in commercial settings; and manufactures ceiling suspension system (grid) products.