Howe & Rusling Inc. Makes New Investment in Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX)

Howe & Rusling Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,283 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,767 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,754,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $248,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 80,376 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $5,693,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 207,684 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $14,710,000 after buying an additional 37,193 shares in the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Louisiana-Pacific Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of LPX stock opened at $72.89 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Louisiana-Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $49.47 and a 1 year high of $84.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75 and a beta of 1.87.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. Louisiana-Pacific had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 15.65%. The business had revenue of $658.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $618.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Louisiana-Pacific Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Louisiana-Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Louisiana-Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $193,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,995 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,692.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TheStreet downgraded Louisiana-Pacific from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Louisiana-Pacific from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Louisiana-Pacific from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Louisiana-Pacific has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.71.

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.