Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys Shares of 684,859 West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 684,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,645,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 1st quarter valued at $103,000. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of WFG stock opened at $95.11 on Monday. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1-year low of $64.11 and a 1-year high of $95.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $86.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -78.60 and a beta of 1.16.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. West Fraser Timber had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 3.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.237 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $0.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is presently -77.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WFG. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on West Fraser Timber from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.