West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Share Price Breaks Below 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) shares passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $67.23 and traded as low as $66.35. West Fraser Timber shares last traded at $66.45, with a volume of 92,816 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WFG. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Fraser Timber from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.80.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.16 and a 200-day moving average of $67.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.77 and a beta of 1.12.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($1.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.84) by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 20.39% and a negative return on equity of 9.19%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 29th. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is presently -9.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFG. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 72.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 4,072.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 751 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 97.8% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 894 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. is an integrated forest products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1955 as a sawmill in Quesnel, the company has grown into a producer of wood-based building materials and other forest products. Its products include lumber, oriented strand board (OSB), plywood, medium-density fibreboard, laminated veneer lumber, pulp, paper and related products. West Fraser also uses wood residuals to produce items such as wood chips and renewable energy.