Short Interest in Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) Rises By 24.7%

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,820,000 shares, an increase of 24.7% from the February 28th total of 8,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Weyerhaeuser Trading Up 1.4 %

WY opened at $29.54 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.97 and its 200-day moving average is $30.66. Weyerhaeuser has a 52-week low of $26.73 and a 52-week high of $35.30. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.04. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 3.86%. Analysts expect that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weyerhaeuser Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from Weyerhaeuser’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Weyerhaeuser’s payout ratio is 152.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WY. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 50,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the fourth quarter worth about $1,214,000. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 51,785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 18,698 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 157,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 9,377 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 148.2% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 125,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,253,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WY has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Weyerhaeuser from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Weyerhaeuser from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weyerhaeuser has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.00.

About Weyerhaeuser

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.