West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.98 EPS

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($2.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.42) by ($0.98), Zacks reports. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 5.69% and a negative net margin of 17.15%.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

WFG stock traded down $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $63.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 158,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,027. West Fraser Timber has a 52 week low of $57.34 and a 52 week high of $78.55. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.82. 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 Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EFG International AG bought a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Jain Global LLC bought a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter valued at $321,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial cut West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $81.00 price target on West Fraser Timber in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

West Fraser Timber Company 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.