Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

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

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFG. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 5.1% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 118,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,743 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the second quarter worth about $1,862,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 383.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 74,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,296,000 after purchasing an additional 59,347 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 128.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 247,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,087,000 after purchasing an additional 138,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 816.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 13,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 11,925 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WFG stock opened at $87.33 on Friday. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a twelve month low of $73.91 and a twelve month high of $102.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.91. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.23 and a beta of 1.19.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from West Fraser Timber’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -100.00%.

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.