Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Receives $86.32 Consensus PT from Analysts

Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.32.

MAS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $68.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.92. 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 has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $86.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Masco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Masco by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 504,708 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,627,000 after purchasing an additional 26,481 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Masco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 653,513 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,425,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $25,466,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Masco by 105.9% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,882 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 8,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 85.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 157,944 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,462,000 after acquiring an additional 72,875 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

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.