Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 5,842 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,821 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,842 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of West Fraser Timber worth $4,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber in the first quarter worth $5,104,000. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 41.6% in the first quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 13,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 4,006 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 44.5% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 112,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,650,000 after purchasing an additional 34,599 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 3.9% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 37,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 1st quarter worth $2,107,000. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WFG shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Monday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of WFG opened at $75.9040 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.37 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12 month low of $68.63 and a 12 month high of $102.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.32.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 0.85% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. Equities analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -73.14%.

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.