West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on West Fraser Timber from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.67.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

NYSE WFG opened at $64.94 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.08. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.33 and a beta of 1.12. West Fraser Timber has a 1 year low of $57.34 and a 1 year high of $80.73.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported ($2.42) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.71) by $0.29. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 17.15% and a negative return on equity of 5.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EFG International AG bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 212.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 346.6% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

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.