Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) Short Interest Update

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,680,000 shares, a decline of 13.1% from the February 13th total of 9,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Up 0.5 %

WY stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.07. The stock had a trading volume of 252,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,345,784. Weyerhaeuser has a one year low of $26.73 and a one year high of $36.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.75. The company has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 3.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from Weyerhaeuser’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Weyerhaeuser’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 152.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WY. Raymond James raised shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weyerhaeuser presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weyerhaeuser

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WY. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Weyerhaeuser in the 3rd quarter valued at $440,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 457,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,474,000 after purchasing an additional 48,137 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 106,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,911 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 43,106 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 159,987 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,417,000 after purchasing an additional 10,798 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Weyerhaeuser Company 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.