Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Short Interest Update

Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) saw a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,340,000 shares, a decline of 18.3% from the August 31st total of 4,090,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Masco from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Masco from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Masco from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In related news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Masco during the 2nd quarter worth $82,363,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Masco in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,181,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Masco by 66.5% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,581,000 after acquiring an additional 728,690 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Masco by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,074,591,000 after acquiring an additional 721,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Masco by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,538,952 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,391,000 after purchasing an additional 551,203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $83.57 on Monday. Masco has a fifty-two week low of $47.66 and a fifty-two week high of $84.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 602.39% and a net margin of 11.59%. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Masco will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

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.