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Louisiana-Pacific Hits a 52-Week High on Solid Homebuilding

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Shares of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LPX - Free Report) scaled a new 52-week high of $24.96 on Mar 31. The homebuilding company’s stock has risen 31% year to date, outperforming the Zacks categorized Building Products - Wood’s gain of 11.5%.



What’s Driving It?

Louisiana-Pacific manufactures and sells building products, primarily for use in new home construction, repair and remodeling, and outdoor structures, as well as light industrial and commercial construction.

Much like other major homebuilders, KB Home (KBH - Free Report) , NVR, Inc. (NVR - Free Report) and PulteGroup Inc. (PHM - Free Report) , Louisiana-Pacific is on a rally these days buoyed by the current positive housing scenario. Recently released reports hint at growth for the homebuilding sector this year. Homebuilders’ confidence for March reached the best level in the last 12 years. Additionally, new home sales and residential construction data were also positive.

Steady job and wage growth, a recovering economy, moderating home price gains, historically low interest/mortgage rates, rising rentals, rapidly increasing household formation and a limited supply of inventory, point to strong demand in 2017.

Louisiana-Pacific is well poised on these positive housing fundamentals. The company registered positive operating earnings in 2016 for the first time since 2013. Impressive earnings came on the back of higher North Central Oriented Strand Board or OSB prices, along with 36% growth in Siding segment EBITDA where Louisiana-Pacific is gradually gaining traction.

In 2017, the company expects demand for housing to increase, driven primarily by higher household formations and wage growth.

The company carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and witnessed an average positive earnings surprise of 66.28% in the trailing four quarters. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Louisiana-Pacific expects earnings growth of 71.4% in 2017 on 13.2% higher revenues. Again, its trailing 12-month Return on Equity (ROE) ratio is 11.56% compared with the industry average of 7.71%. This indicates that the company reinvests more efficiently than its peer group.

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