Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Universal Forest Products Inc. (UFPI) from NEUTRAL to OUTPERFORM on October 23, 2013, with a target price of $59.00.
Universal Forest's earnings more than doubled year over year to $0.71 per share in the third quarter 2013. Revenues grew 22% on the back of healthy performances at the five market segments. Going forward, management looks forward to improving its top-line growth by adding new customers and products to its portfolio. The recent hike of 5% in the annual dividend rate is consistent with the company's policy of rewarding its shareholders. Also, expansion through development of industrial business, entry into markets without adding capacities and accretive acquisitions is being carried out. Addition of SE Panel assets in Nov 2013 will enable the company to gain easy access to concrete forming and construction industries of the southeastern region of the United States. Considering all these, we upgrade our recommendation on Universal Forest from Neutral to Outperform.
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