West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.00.

WFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price 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. Raymond James Financial raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their target price on West Fraser Timber from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

NYSE:WFG opened at $74.88 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.35 and a beta of 1.12. West Fraser Timber has a 1-year low of $57.34 and a 1-year high of $84.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is -38.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFG. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter worth approximately $91,014,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 31,861.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 896,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,968,000 after acquiring an additional 894,046 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,720,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,910,000 after acquiring an additional 812,474 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 91.6% during the 3rd quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,671,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,656,000 after buying an additional 799,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,870,000. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.