West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Short Interest Up 69,900.0% in July

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,470,000 shares, agrowthof69,900.0% from the June 30th total of 2,100 shares. Approximately2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 202,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 202,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.3 days. Approximately2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WFG. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,041,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319,843 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter worth $81,605,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,126,000 after acquiring an additional 780,313 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 202.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 395,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,399,000 after acquiring an additional 264,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 200.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 315,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,265,000 after acquiring an additional 210,107 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

West Fraser Timber stock opened at $69.75 on Friday. West Fraser Timber has a 12 month low of $68.63 and a 12 month high of $102.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of -39.86 and a beta of 1.15.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.74). West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 0.85% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Equities analysts predict that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is -73.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WFG. Wall Street Zen cut West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

About West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd., a diversified wood products company, engages in manufacturing, selling, marketing, and distributing lumber, engineered wood products, pulp, newsprint, wood chips, and other residuals and renewable energy. It offers spruce-pine-fir, douglas fir-larch, hem-fir, and southern yellow pine lumber, treated wood products, medium density fiberboard panels and plywood, oriented strand board, and laminated veneer lumber wood products, as well as particleboards.