Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH) has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen.
• Despite the downgrade, the company has received a "buy" rating and a $47.00 price target from Citigroup following an earlier decrease, showing mixed sentiments from analysts.
• In its latest quarterly earnings, Potlatch reported $0.09 EPS, exceeding the estimated $0.07, but experienced a revenue decline of 14.2% year-over-year.

Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial raised Potlatch from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $47.00 target price (down from $49.00) on shares of Potlatch in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Potlatch Price Performance

Potlatch stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 591,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,332. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 79.89 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Potlatch has a 52 week low of $36.82 and a 52 week high of $48.12.

Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Potlatch had a return on equity of 2.10% and a net margin of 3.94%. The business had revenue of $274.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.66 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Potlatch's quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Potlatch will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Potlatch

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Potlatch by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,498,762 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $98,076,000 after acquiring an additional 95,485 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Potlatch by 12.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 260,674 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised 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 valued at $92,623,000 after buying an additional 351,777 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Potlatch by 1.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 17,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Potlatch by 1.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 19,521 shares in the last quarter. 86.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.