Plum Creek Timber Co Inc (PCL): Today's Featured Real Estate Winner

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

Plum Creek Timber (PCL) pushed the Real Estate industry higher today making it today's featured real estate winner. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.6%. By the end of trading, Plum Creek Timber rose 48 cents (1.1%) to $42.94 on heavy volume. Throughout the day, 1.5 million shares of Plum Creek Timber exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 856,100 shares. The stock ranged in a price between $42.47-$42.99 after having opened the day at $42.47 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $42.46. Other companies within the Real Estate industry that increased today were: Income Opportunity Realty Investors (IOT), up 6%, Optibase (OBAS), up 5.3%, HMG/Courtland Properties (HMG), up 3.4%, and Altisource Portfolio Solutions (ASPS), up 3.3%.

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Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. is a publicly owned real estate investment trust (REIT). The trust owns and manages timberlands in the United States. Its products include lumber products, plywood, medium density fiberboard, and related by-products, such as wood chips. Plum Creek Timber has a market cap of $6.83 billion and is part of the financial sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 38.8, equal to the average real estate industry P/E ratio and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 16.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday. Currently there are two analysts that rate Plum Creek Timber a buy, one analyst rates it a sell, and six rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Plum Creek Timber as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity, good cash flow from operations and increase in stock price during the past year. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat weak growth in earnings per share.

• You can view the full Plum Creek Timber Ratings Report.

On the negative front, Diamondrock Hospitality Company (DRH), down 5.5%, Intergroup Corporation (INTG), down 4.4%, Institutional Financial Markets (IFMI), down 4.3%, and Vestin Realty Mortgage II (VRTB), down 3.9%, were all laggards within the real estate industry with Digital Realty (DLR) being today's real estate industry laggard.

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For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the real estate industry could consider iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate (IYR) while those bearish on the real estate industry could consider ProShares Short Real Estate Fund (REK).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

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