Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD Stock: Simplex Trading LLC Decreases Stake

Simplex Trading LLC lowered its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD) by 94.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,489 shares during the quarter. Simplex Trading LLC’s holdings in Simpson Manufacturing were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing during the 2nd quarter valued at $862,138,000. Port Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing during the 2nd quarter worth $82,563,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,197,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,283,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,608,000. 93.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SSD. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $212.00 to $203.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Simpson Manufacturing in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Simpson Manufacturing in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “cautious” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.00.

Simpson Manufacturing Price Performance

Simpson Manufacturing stock opened at $201.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.98. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.32 and a 52 week high of $213.49.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The construction company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.24. Simpson Manufacturing had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The firm had revenue of $638.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $624.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 7th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 7th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Simpson Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.97%.

Simpson Manufacturing announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, October 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 13.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Simpson Manufacturing

In other news, CEO Michael Olosky sold 3,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.84, for a total value of $605,285.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,883,630.32. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Simpson Manufacturing Company Profile

Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. designs, manufactures and sells structural building products and construction solutions, primarily through its Simpson Strong-Tie brand. Its products are used in residential, commercial and industrial construction, as well as in repair and retrofit projects. The company’s offerings include connectors and fasteners, anchors and adhesives, engineered lateral-force-resisting systems, and prefabricated building components. It also provides construction-related software and services to support the design and installation of its products.