Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) Shares Up 4.3% - Here's Why

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY - Get Free Report) shot up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $31.59 and last traded at $31.41. 2,149,418 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 3,351,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 note on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Weyerhaeuser from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. CIBC upgraded Weyerhaeuser from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, December 6th. Three research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Weyerhaeuser presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.00.

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Weyerhaeuser Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.80. The company has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.80, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.43. 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 - 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 return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 5.56%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Weyerhaeuser's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Weyerhaeuser's dividend payout ratio is presently 152.73%.

Institutional Trading of Weyerhaeuser

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WY. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 172.4% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 290.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,239 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

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.