StockNews.com Upgrades Masco (NYSE:MAS) to “Buy”

Masco (NYSE:MAS) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MAS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.75.

Masco Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of MAS stock opened at $82.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.76. Masco has a fifty-two week low of $47.66 and a fifty-two week high of $86.70. The company has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.13.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.02. Masco had a return on equity of 602.39% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Masco will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,273.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Masco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Masco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $82,363,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco by 66.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $121,581,000 after acquiring an additional 728,690 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,074,591,000 after purchasing an additional 721,117 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco by 55.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,538,952 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,391,000 after purchasing an additional 551,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Masco by 16.6% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,245,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $177,136,000 after purchasing an additional 319,029 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Masco

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.