Investopedia: Plum Creek Timber Is Still A Little Warped

Timberland may be a great investment class, but it does not automatically follow that Plum Creek Timber (NYSE:PCL) is a great investment at any and all times. While these are indeed still down days for the residential building market (a major consumer of timber from saw logs) and real estate in general, Plum Creek is not looking all that cheap. Such is the dilemma when investors fully buy into the underlying soundness of a company's core business. 

Some Good, But More Bad in Q2 Results  
Plum Creek surpassed analyst expectations for second quarter revenue growth, but the company's 10% growth was bulwarked in large part by real estate sales. Timber revenue fell 5%, while revenue from timberlands sold for real estate jumped 84%. Sawlog volume was weak in general - hurt by bad weather in the Northwest and good weather in the South (which pressured prices and led Plum Creek to hold off on harvests). Prices were higher for Northwest products and lower for Southern, and the company saw more than one-quarter of its Northwest harvest go to China.

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