West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. Raymond James Financial currently has $75.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $85.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $81.00 price target on West Fraser Timber in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.33.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of WFG stock opened at $65.47 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.89. West Fraser Timber has a twelve month low of $57.34 and a twelve month high of $78.55. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.38 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its 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. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 5.69% and a negative net margin of 17.15%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Equities analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber will post -2.5 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -10.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 3.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 230,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,764,000 after purchasing an additional 6,640 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 9.0% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber during the second quarter worth $5,248,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 2.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 114,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 2.1% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during 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. (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.