Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stake in Builders FirstSource, Inc. $BLDR

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in Builders FirstSource by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,912 shares and ending with 1,836,613 shares valued at about $189 million.
• Builders FirstSource’s latest results were mixed: quarterly EPS of $0.27 missed estimates, while revenue of $3.29 billion came in above expectations but was still down 10.1% year over year.
• The company approved a $500 million share repurchase program covering up to 5.4% of outstanding shares, even as analysts generally remain cautious with an average rating of “Hold” and a target price of $101.88.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NYSE:BLDR - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,836,613 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,912 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.66% of Builders FirstSource worth $188,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Builders FirstSource by 0.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,026,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $586,548,000 after purchasing an additional 29,443 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in Builders FirstSource in the third quarter valued at about $429,640,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Builders FirstSource by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,817,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,789,000 after purchasing an additional 14,420 shares during the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Builders FirstSource by 139.1% in the third quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 2,430,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Builders FirstSource by 99,084.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,241,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239,301 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.53% of the company's stock.

Builders FirstSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLDR opened at $77.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.76. The company has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.63. Builders FirstSource, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.10 and a fifty-two week high of $151.03.

Builders FirstSource (NYSE:BLDR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. Builders FirstSource had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 1.97%.Builders FirstSource's revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Builders FirstSource, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Builders FirstSource announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Builders FirstSource news, Director Paul S. Levy purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $87.73 per share, with a total value of $4,386,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,727,191 shares in the company, valued at $151,526,466.43. The trade was a 2.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLDR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their target price on Builders FirstSource from $140.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their target price on Builders FirstSource from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Builders FirstSource from $110.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial cut their target price on Builders FirstSource from $145.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Builders FirstSource in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Builders FirstSource presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.88.

About Builders FirstSource

Builders FirstSource, Inc is a leading supplier of structural and value-added building products and services to professional contractors, homebuilders and remodelers. The company provides a comprehensive range of materials and prefabricated components that support all phases of residential construction, from site development and framing to finishing and installation.

The company's core offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods, windows and doors, millwork, roofing and siding, and engineered wood products such as roof and floor trusses.

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