Short Interest in Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) Drops By 26.8%

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 768,100 shares, a decline of 26.8% from the February 13th total of 1,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 870,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beacon Roofing Supply

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BECN. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Beacon Roofing Supply by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 214,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,528,000 after purchasing an additional 37,347 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 963,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,239,000 after purchasing an additional 152,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 162,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,284 shares in the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Beacon Roofing Supply Price Performance

Beacon Roofing Supply stock opened at $118.34 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Beacon Roofing Supply has a 12 month low of $77.54 and a 12 month high of $121.42.

Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ:BECN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Beacon Roofing Supply had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 25.32%. Equities analysts predict that Beacon Roofing Supply will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Beacon Roofing Supply in a research report on Monday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Beacon Roofing Supply from $136.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Beacon Roofing Supply from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $131.00 to $122.55 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Zelman & Associates downgraded Beacon Roofing Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Beacon Roofing Supply from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Beacon Roofing Supply presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.95.

About Beacon Roofing Supply

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of residential and non-residential roofing materials, and complementary building products to contractors, home builders, building owners, lumberyards, and retailers in the United States and Canada. The company offers pitched roofing and low slope roof products; gutters and sidings; building materials, such as lumber and composite, skylights and window, plywood and OSB, decking and railing, and HVAC products; and foam board, spray foam, roll, batt, mineral wool, fiberglass, and commercial insulation products, as well as radiant barriers and blown-in insulation and equipment.