Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,670,000 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the October 15th total of 1,420,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 664,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Clement Munroe Best III sold 7,037 shares of Beacon Roofing Supply stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $725,796.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,449 shares in the company, valued at $7,162,969.86. This trade represents a 9.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason L. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $821,790. This represents a 22.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,526,146. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beacon Roofing Supply

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,037,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,814,000 after buying an additional 872,216 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Beacon Roofing Supply by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,435,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,253,000 after acquiring an additional 963,633 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Beacon Roofing Supply by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,471,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,182,000 after acquiring an additional 15,505 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 79.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,285,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,082,000 after acquiring an additional 569,627 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 0.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 993,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,887,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares during the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Beacon Roofing Supply Stock Performance

BECN traded down $2.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $98.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 547,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,894. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.58 and its 200-day moving average is $92.46. Beacon Roofing Supply has a 52 week low of $77.54 and a 52 week high of $105.84. The firm has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on BECN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply from $110.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Beacon Roofing Supply from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens lowered their price target on Beacon Roofing Supply from $107.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Beacon Roofing Supply from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.22.

Beacon Roofing Supply Company Profile

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.