Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) saw a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 768,100 shares, a decrease of 26.8% from the February 13th total of 1,050,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 870,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beacon Roofing Supply

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Beacon Roofing Supply by 180.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 306 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Beacon Roofing Supply during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Roofing Supply in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Beacon Roofing Supply by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 591 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BECN shares. Zelman & Associates downgraded Beacon Roofing Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Beacon Roofing Supply from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on Beacon Roofing Supply in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Beacon Roofing Supply from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $122.55 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Beacon Roofing Supply from $136.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Beacon Roofing Supply presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.95.

Beacon Roofing Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BECN traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $118.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 869,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 741,693. The business’s fifty day moving average is $115.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.43. The stock has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.63. Beacon Roofing Supply has a 1 year low of $77.54 and a 1 year high of $121.42. 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 (NASDAQ:BECN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Beacon Roofing Supply had a return on equity of 25.32% and a net margin of 3.86%. Analysts anticipate that Beacon Roofing Supply will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.