Royal Bank Of Canada Boosts West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Price Target to $85.00

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $80.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.82% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Fraser Mackenzie cut their target price on West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.60.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of West Fraser Timber stock opened at $70.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. West Fraser Timber has a 12-month low of $57.34 and a 12-month high of $76.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.50.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($2.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($1.17). West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 21.86% and a negative return on equity of 9.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. On average, analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber will post -3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of West Fraser Timber

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 230,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,764,000 after acquiring an additional 6,640 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the 2nd quarter worth $5,248,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 114,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 2.1% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

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.