Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,603,437 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 299,020 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Weyerhaeuser were worth $101,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WY. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Weyerhaeuser during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,214,000. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 51,785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after buying an additional 18,698 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 157,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,435,000 after buying an additional 9,377 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 148.2% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 125,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,253,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 729,570 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,777,000 after purchasing an additional 67,314 shares in the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WY opened at $29.73 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.85. Weyerhaeuser has a 1 year low of $26.73 and a 1 year high of $36.27. The company has a market capitalization of $21.60 billion, a PE ratio of 54.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 3.86%. On average, research analysts predict that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Weyerhaeuser’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Weyerhaeuser’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 145.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WY has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Weyerhaeuser Profile

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.