Boise Cascade (NYSE:BCC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Boise Cascade (NYSE:BCC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, a drop of 22.5% from the February 13th total of 1,420,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 339,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BCC shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Boise Cascade from $136.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Boise Cascade from $157.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Boise Cascade from $155.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Boise Cascade from $145.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Boise Cascade in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kristopher J. Matula sold 553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $57,047.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,351,292.84. This represents a 4.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey Robert Strom sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.21, for a total value of $450,945.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 38,026 shares in the company, valued at $3,810,585.46. The trade was a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Boise Cascade during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Boise Cascade by 502.4% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 253 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Boise Cascade by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 378 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Boise Cascade by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 473 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Boise Cascade by 254.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.18% of the company’s stock.

Boise Cascade Stock Performance

Shares of BCC stock traded down $0.55 on Tuesday, hitting $99.46. The company had a trading volume of 350,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,793. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 1.67. Boise Cascade has a twelve month low of $95.33 and a twelve month high of $155.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Boise Cascade (NYSE:BCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The construction company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Boise Cascade had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 17.04%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Boise Cascade will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boise Cascade Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Boise Cascade’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.79%.

Boise Cascade Company Profile

Boise Cascade Company engages in manufacture of wood products and distribution of building materials in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments, Wood Products and Building Materials Distribution. The Wood Products segment manufactures laminated veneer lumber and laminated beams used in headers and beams; I-joists for residential and commercial flooring and roofing systems, and other structural applications; structural, appearance, and industrial plywood panels; and ponderosa pine shop lumber and appearance grade boards.