West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($2.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($1.17), Zacks reports. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 9.36% and a negative net margin of 21.86%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of West Fraser Timber stock opened at $64.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 0.86. West Fraser Timber has a one year low of $57.34 and a one year high of $78.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.82 and its 200 day moving average is $64.79. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.26 and a beta of 1.09.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is currently -10.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WFG. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 500.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 530,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,424,000 after buying an additional 442,138 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 109,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,672,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,836,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,668,000 after acquiring an additional 116,161 shares during the period. Guardian Capital LP bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,099,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,403,000. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WFG. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $81.00 target price on West Fraser Timber in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.33.

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.