Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX) Short Interest Down 26.8% in December

Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,750,000 shares, a drop of 26.8% from the December 15th total of 2,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 656,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Louisiana-Pacific Price Performance

Shares of LPX stock opened at $115.59 on Friday. Louisiana-Pacific has a 12 month low of $63.76 and a 12 month high of $122.87. The company has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Louisiana-Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.93%.

Insider Activity at Louisiana-Pacific

In other news, Director Ozey K. Horton, Jr. sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $34,023.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,247,835.58. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total value of $283,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,513 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,225.50. The trade was a 11.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Louisiana-Pacific

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 57.6% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 35,427 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 12,950 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Louisiana-Pacific by 36.7% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 21,045 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 5,645 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 168.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 79,185 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $6,546,000 after purchasing an additional 49,682 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 238.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,881 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after buying an additional 14,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 269.7% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 41,698 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $4,318,000 after buying an additional 30,418 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Louisiana-Pacific from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Louisiana-Pacific from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Louisiana-Pacific from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.38.

Louisiana-Pacific Company Profile

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.