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

Zacks Research upgraded shares of West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

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

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 1.5%

WFG opened at $64.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $67.58 and its 200-day moving average is $67.08. West Fraser Timber has a 52-week low of $57.34 and a 52-week high of $80.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.33 and a beta of 1.12.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported ($2.42) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Analysts expect that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -10.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EFG International AG bought a new position in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in West Fraser Timber by 75.8% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 212.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 346.6% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jain Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by 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.