Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Short Interest Up 20.7% in March

Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,140,000 shares, a growth of 20.7% from the February 28th total of 4,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Masco by 230.1% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,097 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 3,553 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Masco by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 504,708 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,627,000 after purchasing an additional 26,481 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 653,513 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,466,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 105.9% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,882 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 8,168 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $64.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.64. Masco has a 52-week low of $63.12 and a 52-week high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Masco will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MAS. Oppenheimer raised Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.30.

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.