Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,846,663 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,874 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 3.66% of West Fraser Timber worth $246,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WFG. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in West Fraser Timber by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in West Fraser Timber by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 35,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,113,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the period. 40.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

Shares of West Fraser Timber stock opened at $73.52 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.29. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52-week low of $71.17 and a 52-week high of $102.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of -350.10 and a beta of 1.21.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by $0.63. West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 0.88% and a negative net margin of 0.08%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -609.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFG has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Securities lowered their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on West Fraser Timber from $109.00 to $100.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.00.

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.