Albert Monaco, a director at Weyerhaeuser (WY), recently picked up 3,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by about 12 percent, and came to a total price of just over $115,000.
This marks the first insider buy at the company in over a year. Company executives have been sizeable sellers of shares over the past year. Going further back, there’s been a more even mix of insider buys by directors and sales from company executives.
Overall, company insiders own about 0.2 percent of the company.
Shares of the timberland company are up about 8 percent in the past year, far exceeding the return on the S&P 500 at this point. Revenues have risen 24 percent in the past year, and earnings are up 13 percent. And the company sports a 25 percent profit margin managing sales of its timber and timberlands.
Action to take: Timber is a unique asset class with great long-term appreciation potential. Weak lumber markets can allow timber to grow more and mature, which makes such properties more valuable over time. Investors should consider shares, trading for about 11 times earnings, for the long haul. The stock even pays a growing dividend, with a starting yield of about 1.8 percent.
For traders, shares are likely to continue their long-term appreciation. The October $40 calls, last going for about $2.10, can potentially move higher by the mid-double-digit range in the coming months on a further move higher in shares.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may further trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.