Potlatch Corporation $PCH Shares Sold by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Potlatch Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH) by 87.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 251,283 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Potlatch were worth $1,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Potlatch in the second quarter valued at $217,543,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 344,553 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $107,132,000 after acquiring an additional 461,356 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $39,413,000 after acquiring an additional 438,032 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Potlatch by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 464,044 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,805,000 after acquiring an additional 78,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Potlatch

In other news, VP Ashlee Townsend Cribb sold 4,756 shares of Potlatch stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $187,148.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 39,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,559,007.65. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michele Tyler sold 4,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.36, for a total value of $170,940.48. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 42,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,660,362.24. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 43,569 shares of company stock worth $1,715,897 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Potlatch Price Performance

PCH opened at $41.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.89 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.66 and a 200-day moving average of $41.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.96. Potlatch Corporation has a 1-year low of $36.82 and a 1-year high of $48.12.

Potlatch Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Potlatch’s dividend payout ratio is presently 219.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PCH. Bank of America lowered shares of Potlatch from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Monday, November 17th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of Potlatch in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Potlatch in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Potlatch from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $51.00 to $45.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Potlatch from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.83.

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.