UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Separately, Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of UFP Industries from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $116.50.

UFP Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UFPI opened at $112.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.79, a quick ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.11. UFP Industries has a twelve month low of $90.62 and a twelve month high of $128.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 1.45.

UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.34. UFP Industries had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that UFP Industries will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UFP Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. UFP Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

Insider Transactions at UFP Industries

In other news, Director Bruce A. Merino sold 16,472 shares of UFP Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.88, for a total transaction of $1,941,719.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,107 shares in the company, valued at $837,773.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Patrick M. Benton sold 11,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.27, for a total value of $1,351,540.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,265,221.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce A. Merino sold 16,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.88, for a total transaction of $1,941,719.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,107 shares in the company, valued at $837,773.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,687 shares of company stock worth $3,831,653 over the last ninety days. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UFP Industries

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of UFP Industries by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 753,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $94,609,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of UFP Industries by 0.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 738,608 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $90,857,000 after acquiring an additional 5,784 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UFP Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,885,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UFP Industries by 93.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 679,139 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,544,000 after buying an additional 327,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in UFP Industries by 871.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 412,116 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,741,000 after buying an additional 369,687 shares in the last quarter. 81.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UFP Industries Company Profile

UFP Industries, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets wood and non-wood composites, and other materials in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates through Retail, Packaging, and Construction segments. The Retail segment offers treated lumber products, including decking, fencing, lattice, and other products; pressure-treated and fire-retardant products used primarily for outdoor decking environments; and lawn and garden products, consisting of wood and vinyl fencing options, garden beds and planters, pergolas, picnic tables, and other landscaping products.