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

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $82.60.

A number of research analysts have commented on WFG shares. Fraser Mackenzie decreased their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

WFG traded up $0.55 on Friday, reaching $67.05. The company had a trading volume of 95,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,764. West Fraser Timber has a fifty-two week low of $57.34 and a fifty-two week high of $77.47. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.72 and its 200 day moving average is $66.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.84.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($2.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 9.67% and a negative net margin of 21.86%. As a group, analysts predict that West Fraser Timber will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 820.9% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,803,000 after acquiring an additional 84,550 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 320,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,574,000 after acquiring an additional 44,500 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter worth $952,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter worth $39,660,000. Finally, Marnell Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter worth $483,000. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.