West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $105.60.

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFG. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.4% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 30,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 60.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 3,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

Shares of WFG opened at $97.21 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.32. The company has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of -80.34 and a beta of 1.16. West Fraser Timber has a 52-week low of $64.11 and a 52-week high of $99.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. West Fraser Timber had a return on equity of 3.83% and a net margin of 2.23%. West Fraser Timber’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.03) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that West Fraser Timber will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.237 per share. This represents a $0.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -78.51%.

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.