Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD Shares Bought by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp dramatically increased its stake in Simpson Manufacturing, boosting holdings by 11,911% in the first quarter to 106,057 shares worth about $18.2 million.
• Simpson Manufacturing reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.13 versus estimates of $1.84 and revenue of $587.96 million versus $550.08 million expected.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share from $0.29, while Wall Street currently has a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $214.75.

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD - Free Report) by 11,911.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,057 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 105,174 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.26% of Simpson Manufacturing worth $18,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ValueAct Holdings L.P. increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. ValueAct Holdings L.P. now owns 1,472,142 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $237,707,000 after buying an additional 264,200 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Simpson Manufacturing by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 878,270 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $141,826,000 after acquiring an additional 31,744 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Simpson Manufacturing by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 765,322 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $123,603,000 after acquiring an additional 6,869 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Simpson Manufacturing by 11,044.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 678,490 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $109,556,000 after acquiring an additional 672,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 93.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 663,195 shares of the construction company's stock worth $107,086,000 after acquiring an additional 320,870 shares during the last quarter. 93.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SSD. Weiss Ratings downgraded Simpson Manufacturing from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens upped their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Simpson Manufacturing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.75.

Simpson Manufacturing Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of SSD opened at $185.40 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 1.30. The company's fifty day moving average is $192.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.31. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.32 and a fifty-two week high of $213.49.

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

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This is an increase from Simpson Manufacturing's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Simpson Manufacturing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.07%.

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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