West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Raised to "Outperform" at Raymond James Financial

Key Points

• Raymond James upgraded West Fraser Timber to “outperform” from “market perform” and set an $85 price target, implying approximately 20.2% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: five analysts rate the stock a Buy, two rate it Hold, and one rates it Sell, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $85.20.
• West Fraser’s latest quarter fell short of expectations, with an adjusted loss of $0.78 per share versus the $0.70 expected and revenue of $1.43 billion versus $1.45 billion forecast; analysts anticipate a full-year loss of $3.77 per share.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Raymond James Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial's target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.21% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WFG. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered West Fraser Timber from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.20.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of WFG opened at $70.71 on Tuesday. West Fraser Timber has a fifty-two week low of $57.34 and a fifty-two week high of $76.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.58 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 2.06.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 10.84% and a negative net margin of 22.98%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber will post -3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 72.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 177.0% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 579 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber during the second quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. is a diversified forest products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1955, the company has grown from a regional lumber producer into an international manufacturer and marketer of wood products, pulp and paper.

West Fraser produces dimensional lumber, engineered wood products, oriented strand board, plywood, pulp, newsprint and specialty papers. Its products are used in residential and commercial construction, repair and remodeling, packaging, printing and other industrial applications.

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