Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE:LPX)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $112.94, but opened at $105.99. Louisiana-Pacific shares last traded at $104.33, with a volume of 138,773 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LPX. Truist Financial upped their price target on Louisiana-Pacific from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.38.

Louisiana-Pacific Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $111.20 and its 200 day moving average is $106.39. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The building manufacturing company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.24. Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 24.50% and a net margin of 14.29%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Louisiana-Pacific Co. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Louisiana-Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This is an increase from Louisiana-Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Louisiana-Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Louisiana-Pacific news, Director Lizanne C. Gottung sold 2,500 shares of Louisiana-Pacific stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,101,225.50. The trade was a 11.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Louisiana-Pacific

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPX. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Louisiana-Pacific by 98.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 318 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 158.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 349 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 61.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 430 shares of the building manufacturing company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

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.