West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.00.

Several research firms have commented on WFG. CIBC lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Cibc Captl Mkts downgraded West Fraser Timber from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on West Fraser Timber from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

Shares of WFG opened at $72.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.53 and a beta of 1.11. West Fraser Timber has a 52 week low of $57.34 and a 52 week high of $92.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 2.39.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported ($2.63) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.72) by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 4.35% and a negative return on equity of 2.63%. Equities analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -38.21%.

Institutional Trading of West Fraser Timber

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFG. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the third quarter worth $952,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 70.0% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 23,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 9,658 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Advisors Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Susquehanna Advisors Group Inc. now owns 19,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,577 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 210.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 7,736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. (NYSE: WFG) is a leading North American diversified wood products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates a broad portfolio of manufacturing facilities that produce lumber, engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, as well as medium density fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, pulp and paper. West Fraser’s integrated production model spans harvesting, milling and finishing, allowing it to serve a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial construction markets.

Founded in 1955 as West Fraser Mills, the company has grown through both organic investment and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest lumber producers in the world.