Aristides Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD

Aristides Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD) by 176.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,305 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,964 shares during the quarter. Simpson Manufacturing accounts for approximately 0.6% of Aristides Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Simpson Manufacturing were worth $3,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSD. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Simpson Manufacturing by 51.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,093 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 11.8% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,720 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing during the first quarter valued at approximately $531,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 43.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 212,164 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,327,000 after buying an additional 64,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $19,022,000 after buying an additional 12,865 shares during the period. 93.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SSD shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Simpson Manufacturing from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Simpson Manufacturing from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens raised their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Simpson Manufacturing Stock Up 1.2%

SSD stock opened at $189.11 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.64. The company has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 3.40 and a quick ratio of 2.02. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.32 and a 12 month high of $213.49.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The construction company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $587.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $550.08 million. Simpson Manufacturing had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. will post 9.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Simpson Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Simpson Manufacturing’s payout ratio is presently 14.07%.

About Simpson Manufacturing

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.