Norges Bank Purchases New Shares in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Simpson Manufacturing, buying 527,280 shares valued at about $85.1 million, or roughly 1.27% ownership.
• Simpson Manufacturing reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.13 versus the $1.84 estimate and revenue of $587.96 million topping forecasts; revenue also rose 9.1% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share from $0.29, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $214.75.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 527,280 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $85,140,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.27% of Simpson Manufacturing as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SSD. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 51.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,093 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 11.8% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,720 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing in the first quarter valued at about $531,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 43.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 212,164 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,327,000 after acquiring an additional 64,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 11.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 121,099 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $19,022,000 after acquiring an additional 12,865 shares in the last quarter. 93.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SSD has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Simpson Manufacturing from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Simpson Manufacturing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Simpson Manufacturing Trading Down 0.8%

SSD opened at $185.24 on Friday. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.38 and a twelve month high of $211.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.32.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The construction company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.29. Simpson Manufacturing had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The business had revenue of $587.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $550.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. Simpson Manufacturing's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Simpson Manufacturing's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Simpson Manufacturing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.60%.

Simpson Manufacturing Profile

Simpson Manufacturing Co, Inc, through its Simpson Strong-Tie® brand, is a leading global supplier of structural building products. The company specializes in the design, testing, manufacture and supply of connectors, anchors, fasteners and lateral systems that enhance the safety and performance of wood, concrete and masonry structures. Its product portfolio also includes repair and strengthening systems, concrete reinforcement and high-performance adhesives used in residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.

Founded in 1956 by Barclay Simpson in Oakland, California, Simpson Manufacturing has grown from a single product business into a diversified manufacturer with worldwide operations.

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