Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Weyerhaeuser (WY) to Strategically Review Assets in Uruguay

Read MoreHide Full Article

Forest product manufacturer and supplier, Weyerhaeuser Company (WY - Free Report) recently communicated its intention of evaluating strategic alternatives for its timberlands and manufacturing operations in Uruguay.

As revealed, Weyerhaeuser is open to either selling off this business or continuing with it. The timberlands and manufacturing operations in Uruguay include approximately 300,000 acres of timberlands in north-eastern and north-central parts of the country. In addition, the assets under review include a seedling nursery, plywood and veneer manufacturing facility and a cogeneration facility.

Earlier in Nov 2015, Weyerhaeuser received a go-ahead from its board of directors for the evaluation of strategic alternatives for its Cellulose Fibers business, including five pulp mills, two modified fiber mills, one liquid packaging board facility, and one publishing papers joint venture facility. Of these assets, Weyerhaeuser has signed an agreement to sell its five Cellulose Fibers pulp mills and fiber mills to International Paper Company (IP - Free Report) ; completed divesting its liquid packaging board business to Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. and agreed to sell its publishing papers joint venture facility to One Rock Capital Partners, LLC.  

We believe that the above-mentioned strategic initiatives will enable Weyerhaeuser to concentrate on its core timber, land, and forest products business and hence, improve its profitability in the quarters ahead. Weyerhaeuser, with a market capitalization of $23.5 billion, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

A couple of better-ranked stocks in the building products industry include Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (LPX - Free Report) and The Home Depot, Inc. (HD - Free Report) . While Louisiana-Pacific Corp. sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), The Home Depot carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Louisiana-Pacific Corp.’s financial performance has been impressive, with an average positive earnings surprise of 53% for the last four quarters. Also, earnings estimates for 2016 and 2017 have been revised upward over the last 60 days.

The Home Depot reported better-than-expected results in the last four quarters, with a positive average earnings surprise of 4.15%. Also, earnings estimates for fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2018 have improved over the past 60 days.

Confidential from Zacks

Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>>

Published in