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

Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $82.6667.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WFG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on West Fraser Timber from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Raymond James Financial raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFG. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 5.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 75.8% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EFG International AG bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 40.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WFG opened at $65.19 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $67.74 and its 200 day moving average is $65.43. West Fraser Timber has a 52 week low of $57.34 and a 52 week high of $78.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.35 and a beta of 1.09.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported ($2.42) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.71) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 17.15% and a negative return on equity of 5.69%. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is presently -10.51%.

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.