Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stock Position in Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,767 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock after buying an additional 812 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Louisiana-Pacific were worth $1,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Louisiana-Pacific by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 796,563 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $44,026,000 after purchasing an additional 291,833 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 356.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 311,758 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $22,082,000 after purchasing an additional 243,409 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al purchased a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,148,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 493.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 171,838 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $9,497,000 after acquiring an additional 142,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Louisiana-Pacific during the third quarter worth approximately $7,326,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Louisiana-Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LPX opened at $86.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.39. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49 and a beta of 1.87. Louisiana-Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $49.47 and a 52 week high of $88.40.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The building manufacturing company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $724.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $686.84 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 15.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Louisiana-Pacific Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Louisiana-Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. TheStreet lowered shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Louisiana-Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $193,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,995 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,692.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Louisiana-Pacific

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides building solutions primarily for use in new home construction, repair and remodeling, and outdoor structure markets. It operates through Siding, Oriented Strand Board, LP South America, and Other segments. The Siding segment offers LP SmartSide trim and siding products, LP SmartSide ExpertFinish trim and siding products, LP BuilderSeries lap siding products, and LP Outdoor Building Solutions; and engineered wood siding, trim, soffit, and fascia products.