Masco (NYSE:MAS) Given New $70.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Masco (NYSE:MAS) had its target price cut by Evercore ISI from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Masco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Masco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.07.

Masco Stock Performance

MAS opened at $64.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.53, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.08. Masco has a 1 year low of $56.55 and a 1 year high of $83.06. The stock has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.18.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 1,317.38% and a net margin of 10.89%.The business’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Masco has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.900-3.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Masco will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 2,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.62, for a total value of $181,401.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,126.32. This represents a 16.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 82,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total transaction of $6,304,476.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,073.52. This represents a 67.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Masco

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MAS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the second quarter valued at about $122,990,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the first quarter valued at about $126,057,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 6.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,872,772 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,858,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,673 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 48.6% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,001,386 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $321,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635,746 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Masco in the first quarter valued at about $111,722,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

About Masco

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.