2-Star Stocks Poised to Plunge: Universal Forest?

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 130,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, wood products producer Universal Forest Products (Nasdaq: UFPI) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Universal Forest's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Universal Forest facts

Headquarters (founded)	Grand Rapids, Mich. (1955)
Market Cap	$543.04 million
Industry	Lumber, wood production
TTM Revenue	$2.23 billion
Management	CEO Michael Glenn (since 2006) CFO Michael Cole (since 2000)
Return on Equity (average, last five years and TTM)	10.3% and 0.8%
Competitors	Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY)
CAPS members bearish on UFPI also bearish on	Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM)
CAPS members bullish on UFPI also bullish on	USG (NYSE: USG) General Electric (NYSE: GE)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 23 of the 87 members who have rated Universal Forest -- some 26% -- believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include All-Star bdash, who is ranked in the top 7% of our community, and TSIF.

In February, bdash tapped Universal Forest as a stock primed to get chopped: "Hasn't fallen with other timber companies and has a P/E of 100+. They make everything you could want as far as house construction is concerned."

In a pitch from last month, TSIF also seemed stumped over the stock's resilience:

I can't find what's propping Universal Forest Products up in this economy. Yes, do it yourselfers are still out there, ... but overall, this is the wrong product mix in the wrong economy and with negative cash flow, and no hurricanes in sight, this company seems to be teetering with its low cash on hand, climbing acct. payable and very high P/E. Low volume, some loyal following, but with a sub-1% profit margin, I think it will need something more to hold up it's trusses.

What do you think about Universal Forest, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 130,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.