Versant Capital Management Inc Boosts Stake in Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) by 88.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 380 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Owens Corning were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Owens Corning by 168.3% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 741,262 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $128,772,000 after purchasing an additional 464,981 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Owens Corning by 38.9% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,592,536 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $276,655,000 after buying an additional 446,073 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Owens Corning by 113.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 797,743 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $140,818,000 after acquiring an additional 424,786 shares in the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Owens Corning in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,559,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Owens Corning during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,970,000. 88.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Owens Corning Price Performance

OC opened at $172.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $187.98 and a 200-day moving average of $177.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.44. Owens Corning has a 1-year low of $138.70 and a 1-year high of $214.53.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The construction company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 25.82% and a net margin of 9.92%. Owens Corning’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Owens Corning will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Owens Corning Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This is an increase from Owens Corning’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Owens Corning’s payout ratio is currently 23.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on OC. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Owens Corning from $189.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays upgraded Owens Corning from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $192.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Owens Corning from $197.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Owens Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Owens Corning has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Owens Corning

In related news, insider Gunner Smith sold 17,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 48.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Owens Corning

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.