West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on WFG. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Fraser Mackenzie lowered their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.20.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:WFG opened at $64.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -4.19 and a beta of 1.00. West Fraser Timber has a 52-week low of $57.34 and a 52-week high of $76.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 22.98% and a negative return on equity of 10.84%. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber will post -3.07 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is presently -8.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 72.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. EFG International AG purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 177.0% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 579 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Aegis Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 1st quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the third quarter valued at about $224,000. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. (NYSE: WFG) is a leading North American diversified wood products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates a broad portfolio of manufacturing facilities that produce lumber, engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, as well as medium density fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, pulp and paper. West Fraser’s integrated production model spans harvesting, milling and finishing, allowing it to serve a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial construction markets.

Founded in 1955 as West Fraser Mills, the company has grown through both organic investment and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest lumber producers in the world.