West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WFG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded 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. CIBC lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Cibc Captl Mkts cut West Fraser Timber from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.00.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE WFG opened at $70.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.06 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.20. West Fraser Timber has a 12 month low of $57.34 and a 12 month high of $88.95.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -38.21%.

Institutional Trading of West Fraser Timber

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 3.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 230,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,764,000 after buying an additional 6,640 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 3.6% in the second quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 11,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 27.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 2.6% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About West Fraser Timber

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.