Weyerhaeuser stock may top $100/shr: Barron's

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The asset value of timber company Weyerhaeuser (WY.N) may exceed $100 a share, some 50 percent above its current stock price of about $68, Barron's reported in its October 29 edition.

The company sold its fine-paper business earlier this year, and bulls are betting on more restructuring that could lift its shares above $100, the magazine said.

Under one scenario, Weyerhaeuser could convert into a timberland real-estate investment trust by 2009, lowering its taxes and presumably boosting its shares, the magazine said.

Management could also unlock value by taking other steps, including selling the company's container board business, perhaps as soon as year's end, the magazine reported.

"We think it's worth between 90 and 100 (dollars) a share based on the parts of the business," Barron's quoted Michael Embler, chief investment officer for Franklin Mutual Advisers, as saying.

Franklin Mutual, which holds 17 million shares, is pushing the company to accelerate its restructuring, Barron's said.