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

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.00.

Several research firms have commented on WFG. Raymond James Financial raised 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 research note on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Securities cut their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 1.0%

WFG opened at $74.88 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.82 and a 200 day moving average of $67.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. West Fraser Timber has a 12 month low of $57.34 and a 12 month high of $84.38. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.35 and a beta of 1.12.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is -38.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 3.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 230,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,764,000 after acquiring an additional 6,640 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.6% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.0% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 178,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,092,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares during the period. 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.