Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.8750.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WY shares. New Street Research set a $28.00 price objective on Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Weyerhaeuser from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard Beckwitt acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.70 per share, with a total value of $514,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,496.20. This represents a 491.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James Calvin O’rourke bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.35 per share, for a total transaction of $101,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 28,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $726,556.35. This represents a 16.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $721,645 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weyerhaeuser

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,881,226 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,636,000 after purchasing an additional 405,575 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 2.0% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,322,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $57,278,000 after purchasing an additional 46,207 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,647,285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,836,000 after acquiring an additional 669,451 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 2.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,675,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $91,128,000 after purchasing an additional 97,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the third quarter worth about $1,154,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Performance

WY stock opened at $24.45 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.42. The company has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.57 and a beta of 1.03. Weyerhaeuser has a 1 year low of $21.16 and a 1 year high of $31.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 1.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Weyerhaeuser’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 190.91%.

About Weyerhaeuser

Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) is a leading integrated forest products company whose core businesses are timberland ownership and forest products manufacturing. The company owns and manages large tracts of timberland and harvests, processes and sells wood and wood-derived products used primarily in residential and industrial construction. Its manufacturing operations produce a range of building materials, including lumber, engineered wood products and wood panels, alongside fiber-based products that serve multiple commercial applications.

Founded in 1900 by Frederick Weyerhaeuser and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company has a long history in the North American forest products industry.