West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $104.92.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Scotiabank set a $100.00 price target on shares of West Fraser Timber and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Thursday, March 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AXA S.A. grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 3,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,168,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 25,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFG opened at $81.70 on Friday. West Fraser Timber has a 12 month low of $64.11 and a 12 month high of $90.17. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.00 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.05. West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 1.29% and a negative net margin of 2.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is -27.91%.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

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.