West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $105.60.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFG. Norges Bank bought a new position in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,413,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,645,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,886,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 178.5% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 835,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,236,000 after purchasing an additional 535,708 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 161.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 509,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,597,000 after purchasing an additional 314,750 shares during the period. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 2.5 %

West Fraser Timber stock opened at $90.49 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.51 and a 200 day moving average of $81.67. West Fraser Timber has a one year low of $64.11 and a one year high of $91.43. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of -74.79 and a beta of 1.16.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). West Fraser Timber had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 3.83%. The company 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 firm posted ($0.03) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Fraser Timber will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a $0.237 dividend. This represents a $0.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -77.69%.

About West Fraser Timber

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.