Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its holdings in Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 108,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 36,589 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Weyerhaeuser were worth $3,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,103,000. North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new stake in Weyerhaeuser during the fourth quarter worth about $402,000. Kennondale Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Weyerhaeuser during the fourth quarter worth about $484,000. Mystic Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Weyerhaeuser during the fourth quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp increased its position in Weyerhaeuser by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 326,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,178,000 after purchasing an additional 34,987 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weyerhaeuser Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WY stock opened at $30.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $21.86 billion, a PE ratio of 54.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.75. Weyerhaeuser has a 1-year low of $26.73 and a 1-year high of $36.27.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.04. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 3.86%. On average, analysts predict that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from Weyerhaeuser’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Weyerhaeuser’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 152.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WY shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

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.