Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 1,323 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,974 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFG. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $223,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 4,057.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 193,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,321,000 after purchasing an additional 189,092 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 82.9% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 34,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,285,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,370,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $111.60.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

NYSE WFG opened at $94.46 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.55. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52-week low of $72.35 and a 52-week high of $102.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.80 and a beta of 1.18.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.87). West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 1.53% and a positive return on equity of 0.53%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $0.237 per share. This represents a $0.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is presently -74.22%.

West Fraser Timber 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.