Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 23,301 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 83.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,617 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,301 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WFG. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 2,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at $1,040,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 59,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,152,000 after acquiring an additional 10,841 shares during the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:WFG opened at $73.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -435.19 and a beta of 1.17. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12-month low of $69.48 and a 12-month high of $102.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.11.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.15). West Fraser Timber had a return on equity of 0.99% and a net margin of 0.03%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is currently -752.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WFG shares. TD Securities dropped their price target on West Fraser Timber from $99.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised West Fraser Timber from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.40.

About West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd., a diversified wood products company, engages in manufacturing, selling, marketing, and distributing lumber, engineered wood products, pulp, newsprint, wood chips, and other residuals and renewable energy. It offers spruce-pine-fir, douglas fir-larch, hem-fir, and southern yellow pine lumber, treated wood products, medium density fiberboard panels and plywood, oriented strand board, and laminated veneer lumber wood products, as well as particleboards.