UFP Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

UFP Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, a growth of 46.0% from the February 13th total of 767,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 344,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UFP Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $83,149,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in UFP Industries by 3,820.8% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 561,142 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $63,212,000 after buying an additional 546,830 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of UFP Industries by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,546,745 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $174,241,000 after buying an additional 435,155 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of UFP Industries by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 672,231 shares of the construction company's stock worth $75,736,000 after buying an additional 337,463 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UFP Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,457,000. 81.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded UFP Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of UFP Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $143.00.

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UFP Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UFPI traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $107.97. 194,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 281,062. The company has a current ratio of 4.88, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business's fifty day moving average price is $112.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.52. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.52. UFP Industries has a 12-month low of $102.35 and a 12-month high of $141.33.

UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by ($0.04). UFP Industries had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 6.23%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that UFP Industries will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UFP Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from UFP Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. UFP Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.68%.

About UFP Industries

UFP Industries, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets wood and non-wood composites, and other materials in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates through Retail, Packaging, and Construction segments. The Retail segment offers treated lumber products, including decking, fencing, lattice, and other products; pressure-treated and fire-retardant products used primarily for outdoor decking environments; and lawn and garden products, consisting of wood and vinyl fencing options, garden beds and planters, pergolas, picnic tables, and other landscaping products.