Short Interest in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Expands By 22.5%

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 940,800 shares, an increase of 22.5% from the February 28th total of 768,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 179,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFG. FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,041,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,861,000 after buying an additional 1,319,843 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter worth $81,605,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,126,000 after acquiring an additional 780,313 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,447,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,047,000 after purchasing an additional 266,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 200.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 315,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,265,000 after purchasing an additional 210,107 shares during the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WFG. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on West Fraser Timber from $109.00 to $100.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.00.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 0.8 %

WFG opened at $78.69 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $80.58 and its 200-day moving average is $88.55. West Fraser Timber has a 52-week low of $73.91 and a 52-week high of $102.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -374.71 and a beta of 1.23.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.55) by $0.63. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 0.08% and a positive return on equity of 0.88%. Equities analysts expect that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -609.52%.

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.