Potlatch Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Potlatch Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.80.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PCH. Zacks Research raised shares of Potlatch from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Potlatch from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of Potlatch in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Bank of America cut Potlatch from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Potlatch in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Potlatch Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PCH opened at $39.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.51 and a beta of 1.09. Potlatch has a 12 month low of $36.82 and a 12 month high of $48.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $354.19 million during the quarter. Potlatch had a net margin of 5.76% and a return on equity of 3.38%. Analysts expect that Potlatch will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Potlatch Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Potlatch’s payout ratio is currently 219.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Darin Robert Ball sold 4,127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.30, for a total value of $162,191.10. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 49,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,822.20. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric J. Cremers sold 24,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total value of $948,757.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 296,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,643,371.19. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,278 shares of company stock worth $1,663,143. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Potlatch during the 2nd quarter worth $217,543,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Potlatch by 13.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,819,875 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,199,000 after buying an additional 344,553 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Potlatch by 19.8% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,792,075 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,132,000 after buying an additional 461,356 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Potlatch by 58.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,288,642 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,512,000 after acquiring an additional 474,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Potlatch by 74.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,027,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,413,000 after acquiring an additional 438,032 shares in the last quarter. 86.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Potlatch

PotlatchDeltic Corporation, which trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker PCH, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership and sustainable management of timberland. Headquartered in Spokane, Washington, the company holds approximately two million acres of forested land across the United States. Its integrated business model combines timberland stewardship with manufacturing and marketing of wood products to serve residential, agricultural and industrial markets.

In its timberland segment, PotlatchDeltic focuses on responsible forest management practices, including reforestation, habitat conservation and wildfire mitigation.