Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th.

Simpson Manufacturing Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of SSD stock opened at $181.05 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $193.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 3.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69 and a beta of 1.33. Simpson Manufacturing has a fifty-two week low of $117.08 and a fifty-two week high of $218.38.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $530.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $549.87 million. Simpson Manufacturing had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 15.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Simpson Manufacturing will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 4th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Simpson Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Simpson Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Insider Transactions at Simpson Manufacturing

In other news, EVP Phillip Burton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.39, for a total value of $422,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $854,861.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Simpson Manufacturing news, EVP Phillip Burton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.39, for a total value of $422,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $854,861.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roger Dankel sold 850 shares of Simpson Manufacturing stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.08, for a total transaction of $168,368.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,573.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,784 shares of company stock valued at $770,924. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Simpson Manufacturing

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Simpson Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Simpson Manufacturing during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 550.0% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 221 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.68% of the company’s stock.

About Simpson Manufacturing

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.