Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,820,000 shares, an increase of 24.7% from the February 28th total of 8,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Weyerhaeuser Trading Down 4.4 %

Weyerhaeuser stock traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.22. The company had a trading volume of 6,633,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,651,524. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Weyerhaeuser has a 12-month low of $26.07 and a 12-month high of $35.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.64. The firm has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.25.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

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Weyerhaeuser Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from Weyerhaeuser's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Weyerhaeuser's dividend payout ratio is currently 152.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WY shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Weyerhaeuser from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts raised Weyerhaeuser from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Raymond James upgraded Weyerhaeuser from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. CIBC upgraded 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.00.

Institutional Trading of Weyerhaeuser

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Weyerhaeuser in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Weyerhaeuser in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 290.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,239 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Weyerhaeuser during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 136.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.