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

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a growth of 24.8% from the December 31st total of 1,130,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 669,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Beacon Roofing Supply Price Performance

Shares of BECN traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $119.14. 1,028,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,223,894. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.83. The company has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Beacon Roofing Supply has a one year low of $77.54 and a one year high of $121.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Beacon Roofing Supply news, insider Jason L. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $286,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,410. This represents a 28.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,162,969.86. The trade was a 9.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,274 shares of company stock worth $1,578,146 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Beacon Roofing Supply

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in Beacon Roofing Supply by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 7,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Beacon Roofing Supply by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 985,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,076,000 after buying an additional 22,122 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in Beacon Roofing Supply by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 4,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BECN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Beacon Roofing Supply from $119.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Beacon Roofing Supply from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Zelman & Associates cut Beacon Roofing Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Beacon Roofing Supply currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.11.

About Beacon Roofing Supply

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.