Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 131,892 Shares of Weyerhaeuser Company $WY

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Weyerhaeuser stake by 3.4% in the first quarter, buying 131,892 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 3,982,030 shares valued at about $97.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with several large funds also adding to or maintaining positions in Weyerhaeuser; institutions now own 82.99% of the company.
• Weyerhaeuser recently beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $0.11 EPS versus $0.04 expected, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.5%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY - Free Report) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,982,030 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 131,892 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.55% of Weyerhaeuser worth $97,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 41,378,212 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $980,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,315 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Weyerhaeuser by 166.1% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 37,621,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $891,242,000 after purchasing an additional 23,485,504 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,031,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $782,513,000 after purchasing an additional 562,781 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Weyerhaeuser in the 4th quarter worth approximately $549,531,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Weyerhaeuser by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $479,155,000 after purchasing an additional 225,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WY shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Weyerhaeuser from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Weyerhaeuser from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Weyerhaeuser from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $28.00 target price on Weyerhaeuser in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Weyerhaeuser from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Weyerhaeuser currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.00.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Performance

NYSE:WY opened at $23.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.24 billion, a PE ratio of 44.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.89. Weyerhaeuser Company has a 52-week low of $21.16 and a 52-week high of $27.75.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.07. Weyerhaeuser had a return on equity of 1.45% and a net margin of 5.78%.The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Weyerhaeuser Company will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Weyerhaeuser's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.56%.

Weyerhaeuser Company Profile

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.

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