Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy put-option activity: Investors purchased 2,319 put options on Weyerhaeuser, about 126% above its typical daily volume of 1,024 contracts.
• Analysts remain generally bullish: Weyerhaeuser has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $29, with recent targets ranging from $28 to $31.
• Stock and fundamentals: Shares fell to $24.61, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.13, exceeding estimates of $0.08. Weyerhaeuser also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.21, representing a 3.4% annualized yield.

Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 2,319 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 126% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,024 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weyerhaeuser

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Financial LLC increased its position in Weyerhaeuser by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 32,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,406 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA increased its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 10,503 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,624 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WY. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $28.00 target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Weyerhaeuser from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial upgraded Weyerhaeuser from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.00.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Performance

Shares of WY traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.61. 1,139,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,925,467. The company has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.55. Weyerhaeuser has a twelve month low of $21.16 and a twelve month high of $27.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.85 billion. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 1.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weyerhaeuser Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Weyerhaeuser's dividend payout ratio is currently 129.23%.

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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