KBC Group NV Increases Stake in Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) by 97.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 362,416 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 178,710 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Owens Corning were worth $61,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Owens Corning during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Owens Corning during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Owens Corning by 165.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Tobam grew its stake in Owens Corning by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 265 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Owens Corning by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. 88.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gunner Smith sold 17,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,336,265.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,990.54. This trade represents a 48.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on OC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Owens Corning from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Owens Corning from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Owens Corning from $189.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Owens Corning from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $192.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.75.

Owens Corning Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:OC opened at $191.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.46. Owens Corning has a 52 week low of $138.70 and a 52 week high of $214.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $185.29 and a 200 day moving average of $178.24.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The construction company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.33. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 25.82% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Owens Corning will post 15.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from Owens Corning’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Owens Corning’s payout ratio is presently 23.49%.

Owens Corning Company Profile

Owens Corning manufactures and sells building and construction materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Roofing, Insulation, and Composites. The Roofing segment manufactures and sells laminate and strip asphalt roofing shingles, oxidized asphalt materials, and roofing components used in residential and commercial construction, and specialty applications.