Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,100 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Armstrong World Industries were worth $2,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Armstrong World Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Armstrong World Industries by 36.5% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,987 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,234,000 after purchasing an additional 4,811 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Armstrong World Industries by 147.2% in the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,427 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Armstrong World Industries by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 38,666 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,803,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Armstrong World Industries during the 1st quarter worth $1,150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Armstrong World Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWI opened at $136.19 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.98. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.30 and a twelve month high of $142.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.07. Armstrong World Industries had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The firm had revenue of $365.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Armstrong World Industries, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Armstrong World Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.308 per share. This is a positive change from Armstrong World Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Armstrong World Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 21.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AWI shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Armstrong World Industries from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Armstrong World Industries from $131.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Armstrong World Industries from $122.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Armstrong World Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Armstrong World Industries from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

About Armstrong World Industries

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.