Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY)

Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 2,319 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 126% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,024 put options.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Down 1.6%

WY traded down $0.41 on Wednesday, hitting $24.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,139,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,925,467. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.55. Weyerhaeuser has a 12-month low of $21.16 and a 12-month high of $27.75.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.05. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 1.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weyerhaeuser Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Weyerhaeuser’s payout ratio is currently 129.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weyerhaeuser

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WY. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 18.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,249,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,878,000 after purchasing an additional 346,571 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,049 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after buying an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Weyerhaeuser by 5.9% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 56,265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after buying an additional 3,124 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Weyerhaeuser during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $275,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Weyerhaeuser by 10.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 91,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WY. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $28.00 price target on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Weyerhaeuser from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Weyerhaeuser from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Weyerhaeuser currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.00.

Weyerhaeuser Company Profile

Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) is a leading integrated forest products company whose core businesses are timberland ownership and forest products manufacturing. The company owns and manages large tracts of timberland and harvests, processes and sells wood and wood-derived products used primarily in residential and industrial construction. Its manufacturing operations produce a range of building materials, including lumber, engineered wood products and wood panels, alongside fiber-based products that serve multiple commercial applications.

Founded in 1900 by Frederick Weyerhaeuser and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company has a long history in the North American forest products industry.