Armstrong World (AWI) Buys Plasterform's Business & Assets

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) recently acquired the business and assets of Plasterform, Inc. The buyout boosts Armstrong World’s interior accent capabilities. Armstrong World funded the acquisition with available cash. Financial terms of the transaction remain undisclosed.

Plasterform is a maker of ultra-expressive, durable, custom architectural cast ceilings, walls, facades, columns and moldings. With around 150 employees, the company operates in a 130,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Missauaga, Ontario.

Plasterform’s unique product and service offerings will help expand Armstrong World’s portfolio of standard, and custom specialty ceilings and walls. Armstrong World expects to serve the existing and future Plasterform customers through its current distribution channels.

Armstrong World remains active on the acquisition front. In January 2017, it purchased Tectum, which accelerated the company’s penetration into specialty ceilings and walls. Throughout 2017, its team integrated Tectum into the Armstrong platform, and the results have exceeded expectations. Moreover, continued sales leverage and capital investments at Tectum will enable its Architectural Specialty business to expand margins in 2018 and beyond.

Notably, Armstrong World has outperformed the industry it belongs to in the past year. While the stock has rallied 37%, the industry saw a rise of 19%.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Armstrong World currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the same sector are Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) , Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK) and PGT, Inc. (NYSE:PGTI) . All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Installed Building Products has a long-term earnings growth rate of 30%. The stock has rallied 19% in a year’s time.

Patrick Industries has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12.7%. The company’s shares have gained 25% during the past year.

PGT has a long-term earnings growth rate of 19.3%. Its shares have appreciated 74% over the past year.

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