UBS Group AG Has $7.09 Million Stock Position in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD

UBS Group AG lowered its stake in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,911 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,200 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Simpson Manufacturing were worth $7,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 43.2% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 28,843 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,830,000 after acquiring an additional 8,706 shares during the last quarter. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,074,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 117.6% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 33,651 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,635,000 after acquiring an additional 18,186 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing in the third quarter valued at about $12,211,000. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 101.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 172,813 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,939,000 after acquiring an additional 87,135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SSD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Simpson Manufacturing from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens lifted their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simpson Manufacturing has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.75.

Simpson Manufacturing Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SSD opened at $178.13 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $178.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.10. The company has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.38 and a twelve month high of $211.98.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The construction company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $587.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.08 million. Simpson Manufacturing had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 14.92%.The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. will post 9.18 EPS for the current year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Simpson Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Simpson Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.60%.

About Simpson Manufacturing

Simpson Manufacturing Co, Inc, through its Simpson Strong-Tie® brand, is a leading global supplier of structural building products. The company specializes in the design, testing, manufacture and supply of connectors, anchors, fasteners and lateral systems that enhance the safety and performance of wood, concrete and masonry structures. Its product portfolio also includes repair and strengthening systems, concrete reinforcement and high-performance adhesives used in residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.

Founded in 1956 by Barclay Simpson in Oakland, California, Simpson Manufacturing has grown from a single product business into a diversified manufacturer with worldwide operations.