Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th.

Simpson Manufacturing Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE SSD opened at $181.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.19. Simpson Manufacturing has a one year low of $117.08 and a one year high of $218.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.36.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $530.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $549.87 million. Simpson Manufacturing had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 20.51%. Simpson Manufacturing’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Simpson Manufacturing will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 4th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is an increase from Simpson Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. Simpson Manufacturing’s payout ratio is presently 13.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simpson Manufacturing

In other Simpson Manufacturing news, Director Jennifer Chatman sold 934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.48, for a total value of $179,776.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,522.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jennifer Chatman sold 934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.48, for a total value of $179,776.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,522.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roger Dankel sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.08, for a total value of $168,368.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,697,573.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,784 shares of company stock valued at $770,924 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Simpson Manufacturing

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,208,812 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $833,261,000 after purchasing an additional 49,142 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Simpson Manufacturing by 0.4% in the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $282,813,000 after buying an additional 5,297 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,051,150 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $157,473,000 after acquiring an additional 343,986 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 908,771 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $179,918,000 after acquiring an additional 27,490 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 591,941 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $88,679,000 after acquiring an additional 140,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.68% of the company’s stock.

Simpson Manufacturing Company Profile

Simpson Manufacturing Co, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells structural solutions for wood, concrete, and steel connections. The company offers wood construction products, including connectors, truss plates, fastening systems, fasteners and shearwalls, and pre-fabricated lateral systems for use in light-frame construction; and concrete construction products comprising adhesives, specialty chemicals, mechanical anchors, carbide drill bits, powder actuated tools, fiber-reinforced materials, and other repair products for use in concrete, masonry, and steel construction, as well as grouts, coatings, sealers, mortars, fiberglass and fiber-reinforced polymer systems, and asphalt products for use in concrete construction repair, and strengthening and protection products.