Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Weyerhaeuser Company has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from eleven research firms, with seven analysts issuing buy ratings and one a strong buy rating.
• A recent quarterly earnings report revealed a net margin of 3.97% and earnings per share of $0.12, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Insider transactions show Director Sara Grootwassink Lewis purchased 4,000 shares, a 22.89% increase in her holdings, indicating confidence in the company's future performance.

Shares of Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.8750.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WY shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a report on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Wednesday. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperformer" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Weyerhaeuser from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weyerhaeuser news, Director Sara Grootwassink Lewis purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.29 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,178.62. The trade was a 22.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weyerhaeuser

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WY. Adams Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 54,313 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,320 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 3,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 37,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 183,249 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,543,000 after buying an additional 5,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 41,064 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Down 2.0%

WY opened at $23.95 on Friday. Weyerhaeuser has a fifty-two week low of $23.92 and a fifty-two week high of $33.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.03, a PEG ratio of 155.60 and a beta of 1.05.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 2.95%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Weyerhaeuser's payout ratio is currently 221.05%.

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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