Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 279,654 Shares of Potlatch Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its ownership in Potlatch Corporation by 51.8%, acquiring an additional 279,654 shares, now holding 1.04% of the company worth approximately $36.99 million.
• Potlatch recently reported $0.09 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.07, despite a 14.2% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have mixed views on Potlatch, with one lowering the rating to "sell" while others, including Truist Financial, have a "buy" rating with a price target increase to $52.00.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Potlatch Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH - Free Report) by 51.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 819,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 279,654 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 1.04% of Potlatch worth $36,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Potlatch by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,404,064 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $94,360,000 after purchasing an additional 260,674 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Potlatch by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,359,832 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $92,623,000 after buying an additional 351,777 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Potlatch by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,560,123 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $70,393,000 after buying an additional 17,352 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Potlatch by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,413,351 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,474,000 after buying an additional 19,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Potlatch by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,233,250 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,405,000 after buying an additional 98,914 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PCH. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Potlatch from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Truist Financial raised shares of Potlatch from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $47.00 target price (down previously from $49.00) on shares of Potlatch in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Potlatch presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.00.

Potlatch Price Performance

Potlatch stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.96. 554,281 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 604,350. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.06 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Potlatch Corporation has a 12-month low of $36.82 and a 12-month high of $48.12.

Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $274.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.66 million. Potlatch had a net margin of 3.94% and a return on equity of 2.10%. Potlatch's revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Potlatch Corporation will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Potlatch Company Profile

PotlatchDeltic Corporation Nasdaq: PCH is a leading Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that owns nearly 2.2 million acres of timberlands in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina. Through its taxable REIT subsidiary, the company also operates six sawmills, an industrial-grade plywood mill, a residential and commercial real estate development business and a rural timberland sales program.