Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Stake in UFP Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in UFP Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 2,400 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in UFP Industries by 3,820.8% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 561,142 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $63,212,000 after buying an additional 546,830 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of UFP Industries by 100.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of UFP Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $30,457,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of UFP Industries by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,635,577 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $214,604,000 after purchasing an additional 193,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UFP Industries by 18.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,225,972 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $169,675,000 after buying an additional 188,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of UFP Industries in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UFP Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.00.

UFP Industries Stock Performance

Shares of UFPI opened at $106.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 4.88 and a quick ratio of 3.25. UFP Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $102.35 and a one year high of $141.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.57 and a 200 day moving average of $121.07.

UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by ($0.04). UFP Industries had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UFP Industries, Inc. will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

UFP Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued 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 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. UFP Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.68%.

UFP Industries Profile

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.