UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” by StockNews.com

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

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

UFP Industries Stock Performance

Shares of UFP Industries stock opened at $109.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 4.79 and a quick ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $116.22 and a 200 day moving average of $117.10. UFP Industries has a 12 month low of $90.62 and a 12 month high of $128.65.

UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UFP Industries will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

UFP Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. UFP Industries’s payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UFP Industries 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 transaction of $1,351,540.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,265,221.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other UFP Industries news, insider Patrick M. Benton sold 11,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.27, for a total transaction of $1,351,540.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,265,221.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael R. Cole sold 1,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.28, for a total value of $173,194.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,699,688.40. 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 90 days. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UFP Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in UFP Industries by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 753,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $94,609,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in UFP Industries by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 738,608 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $90,857,000 after acquiring an additional 5,784 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UFP Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,885,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UFP Industries by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 679,139 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,544,000 after acquiring an additional 327,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in UFP Industries by 871.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 412,116 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,741,000 after acquiring an additional 369,687 shares during the period. 81.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About UFP Industries

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.