QV Investors Inc. Grows Stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

QV Investors Inc. lifted its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 50.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 355,987 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 119,945 shares during the quarter. West Fraser Timber comprises approximately 1.9% of QV Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $24,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

Shares of WFG stock opened at $68.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.57. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52 week low of $57.34 and a 52 week high of $76.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 10.84% and a negative net margin of 22.98%. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.77 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on WFG shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded West Fraser Timber from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.20.

About West Fraser Timber

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.