Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stake in UFP Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in UFP Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,906 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,739 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in UFP Industries were worth $2,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of UFP Industries in the 4th quarter worth $3,046,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UFP Industries by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 252,270 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,832,000 after buying an additional 74,852 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UFP Industries by 257.0% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,438 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,786,000 after buying an additional 12,553 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of UFP Industries by 133.2% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 188,154 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $23,623,000 after buying an additional 107,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of UFP Industries by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,978,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. 81.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UFPI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of UFP Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on UFP Industries from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut UFP Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on UFP Industries from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UFP Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.20.

UFP Industries Price Performance

Shares of UFP Industries stock opened at $116.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 3.37 and a current ratio of 4.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $116.09 and its 200 day moving average is $114.31. The stock has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.47. UFP Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $128.65.

UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. UFP Industries had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 7.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UFP Industries, Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current year.

UFP Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. UFP Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UFP Industries

In other UFP Industries news, CEO Matthew J. Missad sold 5,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.05, for a total transaction of $572,302.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 363,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,437,558.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

UFP Industries 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.