Western Forest Products (TSE:WEF) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Western Forest Products Inc. (TSE:WEF) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$19.82 and last traded at C$19.82, with a volume of 39041 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$18.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD increased their price target on shares of Western Forest Products from C$19.00 to C$20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Western Forest Products from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Western Forest Products from C$12.50 to C$20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$18.40.

Western Forest Products Stock Down 1.3%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$18.09 and its 200 day moving average price is C$15.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.63. The stock has a market cap of C$205.78 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.23.

Western Forest Products (TSE:WEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$1.10 EPS for the quarter. Western Forest Products had a negative return on equity of 17.78% and a negative net margin of 9.64%.The business had revenue of C$239.60 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Forest Products Inc. will post 0.004992 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth Kernaghan sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$19.05, for a total value of C$34,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,889,000 shares in the company, valued at C$35,985,450. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their position. Also, insider Kernwood Limited sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$19.05, for a total value of C$34,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,889,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$35,985,450. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. Insiders sold a total of 14,200 shares of company stock valued at $270,980 in the last 90 days. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Forest Products Company Profile

Western Forest Products Inc is a Canada-based softwood forest products company. The company’s principal business activities include timber harvesting, reforestation, forest management, sawmilling logs into lumber and wood chips, and value-added lumber remanufacturing. Its operating business segment comprised of Timber harvesting, Log sales, and Lumber manufacturing and sales. The firm purchases and harvests logs which are then manufactured into lumber products at its sawmills, or sold. Canada and the United States, represent the company’s largest markets and contribute the vast majority of its total revenue.