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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boise Cascade

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Boise Cascade by 23.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 378 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in Boise Cascade by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Invst LLC grew its position in Boise Cascade by 2.6% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 5,060 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Boise Cascade by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,267 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boise Cascade by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 473 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. 96.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCC has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Boise Cascade from $136.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Boise Cascade from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Boise Cascade from $155.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Boise Cascade in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Boise Cascade has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.50.

Boise Cascade Stock Performance

BCC traded up $0.67 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $100.01. 23,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 301,661. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 1.67. Boise Cascade has a 1-year low of $95.33 and a 1-year high of $155.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $115.76 and a two-hundred 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The construction company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.01). Boise Cascade had a return on equity of 17.04% and a net margin of 5.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Boise Cascade will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Boise Cascade Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Boise Cascade’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.79%.

About Boise Cascade

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.