Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Potlatch Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $41.24 and traded as high as $44.33. Potlatch shares last traded at $43.19, with a volume of 1,143,302 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PCH. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of Potlatch in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Potlatch in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of Potlatch from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Bank of America lowered shares of Potlatch from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $49.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Potlatch from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.83.

Potlatch Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.67 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.24.

Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $314.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.13 million. Potlatch had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 5.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Potlatch Corporation will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Potlatch Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Potlatch’s payout ratio is currently 219.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Potlatch

In other Potlatch news, VP William R. Dereu sold 3,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total transaction of $128,923.74. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 73,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,904,323.85. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric J. Cremers sold 24,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total value of $948,757.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 296,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,643,371.19. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 43,569 shares of company stock valued at $1,715,897 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Potlatch

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCH. Norges Bank bought a new position in Potlatch during the second quarter worth about $217,543,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Potlatch by 13.9% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 344,553 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in Potlatch by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,792,075 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,132,000 after acquiring an additional 461,356 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Potlatch by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,359,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $93,854,000 after acquiring an additional 40,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $52,512,000 after purchasing an additional 474,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.06% of the company’s stock.

Potlatch Company Profile

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.