Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Short Interest Down 15.5% in February

Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) saw a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,260,000 shares, a drop of 15.5% from the February 13th total of 5,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Masco Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MAS opened at $71.07 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.00 and a 200 day moving average of $78.42. Masco has a fifty-two week low of $63.81 and a fifty-two week high of $86.70. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Masco will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Masco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Masco by 139.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Masco by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Masco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $292,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Masco by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 32,765 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after buying an additional 2,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Masco by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Masco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

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.