Impala Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Impala Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 44,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,930,000. West Fraser Timber accounts for approximately 1.4% of Impala Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Impala Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of West Fraser Timber as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 820.9% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,803,000 after acquiring an additional 84,550 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 320,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,574,000 after purchasing an additional 44,500 shares in the last quarter. NewGen Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber during the first quarter worth about $6,529,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,660,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in West Fraser Timber by 2.5% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 867,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,511,000 after purchasing an additional 21,224 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 3.8%

WFG stock opened at $67.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.66. 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 market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 1.00.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($2.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($1.17). West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 21.86% and a negative return on equity of 9.67%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. On average, research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Fraser Mackenzie dropped their target price on 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. TD Cowen reduced their price target on West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Four equities 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.60.

West Fraser Timber 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.