Scotiabank Predicts Stronger Earnings for West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) – Research analysts at Scotiabank boosted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of West Fraser Timber in a report released on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank analyst B. Isaacson now forecasts that the company will earn ($1.20) per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of ($1.99). The consensus estimate for West Fraser Timber’s current full-year earnings is $4.45 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for West Fraser Timber’s FY2027 earnings at $0.31 EPS.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported ($2.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.71) by $0.29. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 5.69% and a negative net margin of 17.15%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research cut West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.67.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of WFG opened at $65.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.39 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 2.13. West Fraser Timber has a fifty-two week low of $57.34 and a fifty-two week high of $80.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 91.6% during the third quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,671,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,656,000 after purchasing an additional 799,422 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 15.2% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,642,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,388,000 after purchasing an additional 217,304 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in West Fraser Timber by 149.3% during the second quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 68,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,018,000 after buying an additional 40,960 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 31,861.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 896,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,968,000 after buying an additional 894,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 407.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,599,000 after buying an additional 728,830 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.51%.

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.