Potlatch Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Potlatch Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from seven analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $50.00.
• The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and generating revenues of $274.99 million, despite a 14.2% year-over-year decline.
• Potlatch announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, yielding 4.3%, with a significant dividend payout ratio of 339.62%.

Potlatch Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PCH shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Potlatch from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective (down previously from $49.00) on shares of Potlatch in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Potlatch from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PCH. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Potlatch by 224.2% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 697 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Potlatch by 168.1% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 665 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Potlatch during the first quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Potlatch by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Potlatch by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.06% of the company's stock.

Potlatch Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of Potlatch stock traded up $1.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.20. 515,721 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 459,487. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Potlatch has a 1-year low of $36.82 and a 1-year high of $48.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 79.62 and a beta of 1.12.

Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Potlatch had a net margin of 3.94% and a return on equity of 2.10%. The company had revenue of $274.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. Potlatch's quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Potlatch will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Potlatch Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Potlatch's dividend payout ratio is presently 339.62%.

About Potlatch

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.