AI Sentiment: Bullish
Reason: Despite a director's significant sale of shares, UFP Industries maintains a 'Buy' rating from analysts and has seen increased investment from major players. Its Q1 2021 results beat estimates, indicating strong performance.



In a recent financial move, William Currie, a director at UFP Industries, sold off a significant number of company shares. A total of 7,089 shares were divested at an average price of $101.78, leading to a total transaction amounting to $721,563.02. Following this massive deal, Currie now directly holds 58,809 shares of the company's stock, which is valued at approximately $5,984,649.02. This information was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

UFP Industries, a leader in the wood products manufacturing industry, has been the focus of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research, for instance, downgraded UFP Industries from a 'buy' rating to a 'hold' rating in a research note issued to investors. Despite this, the company's average rating remains 'Buy' and the average price target is set at $110.00.

Several other hedge funds and institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UFP Industries. BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, increased its stake by 3.9%, now owning nearly 6.31 million shares. Similarly, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings by 0.7% during the last quarter. On the other hand, the Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its holdings by approximately 5.1%.

The company recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid out on June 15th. Shareholders of record as of June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of approximately 0.57%.

In the first quarter of 2021, UFP Industries reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.54. The company had a return on equity of 31.10% and a net margin of 4.56%. Its revenue was up 77.0% on a year-over-year basis during the same quarter last year.

While the sale of a significant amount of shares by a leading figure at the company might raise eyebrows, the performance of the company and continued investment by other major players suggest a strong future for UFP Industries.