Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.13.

A number of research firms have recently commented on WY. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Weyerhaeuser from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Weyerhaeuser from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on Weyerhaeuser from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperformer" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weyerhaeuser

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in Weyerhaeuser in the 1st quarter valued at $1,241,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Weyerhaeuser in the first quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the 1st quarter valued at $5,634,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Weyerhaeuser during the 1st quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 101.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,784 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of WY opened at $26.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.89. Weyerhaeuser has a 52 week low of $24.10 and a 52 week high of $34.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.40, a P/E/G ratio of 34.04 and a beta of 1.14.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.11. Weyerhaeuser had a return on equity of 3.59% and a net margin of 5.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 8th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to buy up to 5.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Weyerhaeuser Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Weyerhaeuser's payout ratio is 168.00%.

About Weyerhaeuser

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. We own or control approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manage additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. We manage these timberlands on a sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized forestry standards.

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