Masco (NYSE:MAS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Masco (NYSE:MAS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MAS. Loop Capital set a $62.00 price target on Masco and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Masco from $74.00 to $62.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Masco from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Masco from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays set a $71.00 price target on Masco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.63.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $61.24 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.63 and a 200 day moving average of $69.93. Masco has a 52 week low of $56.55 and a 52 week high of $86.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 1,320.76% and a net margin of 10.30%. The business’s revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Masco will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Masco by 5,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,300 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 21,497 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Masco by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 24,565 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 5,001 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Masco by 107.9% during the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 10,585 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 5,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 175,207 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,715,000 after buying an additional 8,641 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.