Ethic Inc. Trims Stake in Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY)

Ethic Inc. cut its stake in Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,733 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Weyerhaeuser were worth $1,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 38,928,176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,095,726,000 after purchasing an additional 14,213,243 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the fourth quarter worth approximately $638,470,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,171,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $566,527,000 after purchasing an additional 637,643 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 14,362,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $404,299,000 after buying an additional 158,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,538,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $268,498,000 after acquiring an additional 322,313 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Weyerhaeuser Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:WY opened at $26.65 on Wednesday. Weyerhaeuser has a 12-month low of $24.10 and a 12-month high of $34.03. The company has a market cap of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 48.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.25 and a 200 day moving average of $29.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 3.86%. The company’s revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Weyerhaeuser’s dividend payout ratio is currently 168.00%.

Weyerhaeuser announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 8th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Weyerhaeuser in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Weyerhaeuser from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.75.

Weyerhaeuser Profile

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. We own or control approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manage additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. We manage these timberlands on a sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized forestry standards.