Heartland Advisors Inc. Buys New Shares in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,877 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSD. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing in the first quarter worth approximately $7,133,000. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 129,685 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,940,000 after acquiring an additional 56,769 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,424,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 123,375 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,921,000 after acquiring an additional 21,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 327,606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,899,000 after purchasing an additional 131,381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.68% of the company’s stock.

Simpson Manufacturing Stock Performance

Simpson Manufacturing stock opened at $188.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.66 and a 200-day moving average of $188.55. The firm has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62 and a beta of 1.31. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.32 and a 1-year high of $213.49.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The construction company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.37. Simpson Manufacturing had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company had revenue of $671.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $658.76 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Simpson Manufacturing’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. will post 9.09 EPS for the current year.

Simpson Manufacturing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Simpson Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SSD. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Simpson Manufacturing in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Simpson Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Simpson Manufacturing from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Simpson Manufacturing from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.25.

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.