Argyle Capital Management LLC Purchases 6,446 Shares of Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY)

Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,446 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Weyerhaeuser were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WY. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Weyerhaeuser in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,665 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Weyerhaeuser during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Weyerhaeuser in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WY shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Weyerhaeuser from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised Weyerhaeuser from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Weyerhaeuser Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WY opened at $30.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a PE ratio of 54.66, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.78. Weyerhaeuser has a 1-year low of $26.73 and a 1-year high of $36.27. 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 (NYSE:WY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weyerhaeuser Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from Weyerhaeuser’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Weyerhaeuser’s payout ratio is currently 152.73%.

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.