QRG Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Weyerhaeuser Company $WY

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management cut its Weyerhaeuser stake by 68.7% in the first quarter, leaving it with 20,236 shares worth about $494,000.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 82.99% of Weyerhaeuser shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds; several large firms have recently increased their positions.
• Analysts remain cautiously upbeat: Weyerhaeuser has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $29.11, while the stock recently traded at $23.47 and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share.

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY - Free Report) by 68.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 44,493 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Weyerhaeuser were worth $494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WY. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 166.1% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 37,621,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $891,242,000 after acquiring an additional 23,485,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Weyerhaeuser in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $549,531,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 124.5% in the third quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 6,697,465 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $166,030,000 after purchasing an additional 3,713,932 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 6.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 39,646,897 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $982,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,343,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 86.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,300,937 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $106,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990,806 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $28.00 price target on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.11.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Performance

Shares of WY opened at $23.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a PE ratio of 43.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.61. Weyerhaeuser Company has a 12-month low of $21.16 and a 12-month high of $27.75.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 1.45%. Weyerhaeuser's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Weyerhaeuser Company will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Weyerhaeuser's payout ratio is currently 155.56%.

About Weyerhaeuser

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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