West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WFG. Raymond James Financial lowered 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 note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Thursday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded West Fraser Timber to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on West Fraser Timber from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.80.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

West Fraser Timber stock opened at $66.02 on Friday. West Fraser Timber has a 1 year low of $57.34 and a 1 year high of $76.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.31. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.77 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 2.06.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($1.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.84) by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 9.10% and a negative net margin of 20.39%. Sell-side analysts predict that West Fraser Timber will post -4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 72.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 177.0% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 4,072.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 733 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 a diversified wood products company that manufactures and sells building materials for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its principal products include lumber, oriented strand board, laminated veneer lumber and other engineered wood products used in construction, remodeling and manufacturing.

The company operates wood product manufacturing facilities and manages timber resources across Canada and the United States, with a significant presence in Western Canada and the U.S.