UPDATE: D.A. Davidson Upgrades Simpson Manufacturing Co. to Buy, Raises PT on Q4 Earnings

In a report published Monday, D.A. Davidson upgraded its rating on Simpson Manufacturing Co.

from Neutral to Buy, and raised its price target from $35.00 to $37.00. D.A. Davidson noted, “Simpson reported Q4-12 GAAP earnings of $0.12 per share, up slightly year-over-year from earnings of $0.10 in Q4-11 and down from $0.27 last quarter. The GAAP results exceeded our $0.04 estimate, but were propelled by a $9.9 million tax benefit as well as negatively impacted by approximately $4.1 million in losses associated with the closure of the unprofitable Liebig operations in Europe. We believe if the Liebig loss were excluded and a normal tax rate were applied, our estimates would have been quite close to actual results. While Simpson never explicitly discusses ‘Operating Earnings' (we like the fact that they don't make excuses), we certainly don't view the results as a beat. Indeed, we concur with management that the mixed nature of the results was disappointing, and we are modestly trimming our 2013 estimates as a consequence.” Simpson Manufacturing Co. closed on Friday at $29.71.