Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Invests $52.65 Million in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 684,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,645,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.87% of West Fraser Timber as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,813,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,820,000 after buying an additional 28,399 shares in the last quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 1,134,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,533,000 after buying an additional 9,336 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,413,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 178.5% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 835,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,236,000 after buying an additional 535,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 692,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,229,000 after buying an additional 91,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of WFG stock opened at $95.11 on Monday. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52-week low of $64.11 and a 52-week high of $95.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -78.60 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.12.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.09). West Fraser Timber had a return on equity of 3.83% and a net margin of 2.23%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.03) earnings per share. West Fraser Timber’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.237 per share. This represents a $0.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -77.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $105.60.

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.