Why Louisiana-Pacific Will Likely Pull Back
While Fools should generally take the opinion of Wall Street with a grain of salt, it's not a bad idea to take a look at particularly stock-shaking analyst upgrades and downgrades -- just in case their reasoning behind the call makes sense.
What: Shares of Louisiana-Pacific slipped 2% in early Wednesday trading after TD Securities downgraded the building-products company from hold, to reduce.
So what: Along with the downgrade, analyst Sean Steuart lowered his price target to $16 (from $16.50), representing about 8% worth of downside to yesterday's close. Louisiana-Pacific shares have rallied nicely ever since announcing the purchase of Ainsworth Lumber in early September, but Steuart believes that the valuation is a bit rich at the current levels.
Now what: TD is now targeting an EV/EBTIDA multiple of 6.6 on the shares, down from its prior view of 6.9. "We believe that LP's valuation is discounting an expectation of exceptional free cash flow over the mid-term; we expect rising average OSB prices over the next year, but are less optimistic than others on the company's free cash flow prospects," noted TD. When you couple that recent investor enthusiasm with the volatile long-term nature of the building products space, I'd agree that Louisiana-Pacific's risk/reward doesn't look too appealing.
More reliable ways to build wealth
Dividend stocks can make you rich. It's as simple as that. While they don't garner the notoriety of high-flying growth stocks, they're also less likely to crash and burn. And, over the long term, the compounding effect of the quarterly payouts, as well as their growth, adds up faster than most investors imagine. With this in mind, our analysts sat down to identify the absolute best of the best when it comes to rock-solid dividend stocks, drawing up a list, in this free report, of nine that fit the bill. To discover the identities of these companies before the rest of the market catches on, you can download this valuable free report by simply clicking here now.
The article Why Louisiana-Pacific Will Likely Pull Back originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
