Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Boosts Stock Position in UFP Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in UFP Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,185 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in UFP Industries were worth $6,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UFP Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UFP Industries during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UFP Industries by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 440 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of UFP Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in UFP Industries by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark increased their price objective on UFP Industries from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of UFP Industries from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UFP Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of UFP Industries in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

UFP Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UFPI traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $113.64. The company had a trading volume of 214,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,233. The firm has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 1.49. UFP Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.08 and a 1-year high of $128.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.41 and a quick ratio of 3.12.

UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The construction company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.68 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. UFP Industries had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 17.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UFP Industries, Inc. will post 7.4 EPS for the current year.

UFP Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a positive change from UFP Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. UFP Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Matthew J. Missad sold 5,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.05, for a total value of $572,302.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 363,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,437,558.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

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.