Northern Trust Corp Lowers Stock Position in Weyerhaeuser Company $WY

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its position in Weyerhaeuser Company by 1.6%, now holding approximately 9.38 million shares worth about $274.68 million.
• Weyerhaeuser recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, representing a 3.2% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 221.05%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Weyerhaeuser, with Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock to a "strong sell" while Citigroup and DA Davidson have set buy ratings, indicating diverse outlooks among financial experts.

Northern Trust Corp lessened its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,381,103 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 157,022 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.29% of Weyerhaeuser worth $274,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Weyerhaeuser in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Weyerhaeuser during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Weyerhaeuser during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Weyerhaeuser during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Weyerhaeuser from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weyerhaeuser from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Weyerhaeuser from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Weyerhaeuser from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Weyerhaeuser from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.88.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Performance

Shares of WY opened at $25.9950 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.41, a PEG ratio of 80.63 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business's 50 day moving average is $25.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.12. Weyerhaeuser Company has a 52-week low of $24.10 and a 52-week high of $34.03.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 2.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Weyerhaeuser Company will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weyerhaeuser Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Weyerhaeuser's dividend payout ratio is 221.05%.

Weyerhaeuser declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 8th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to buy up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Weyerhaeuser

In related news, Director Sara Grootwassink Lewis purchased 4,000 shares of Weyerhaeuser stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.29 per share, with a total value of $101,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,178.62. This trade represents a 22.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.

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