West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) to Issue $0.32 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• West Fraser Timber declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, payable October 19 to shareholders of record September 29. The dividend implies an annualized payout of $1.28 and a yield of approximately 1.8%.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.78 per share, missing analysts’ $0.70 loss estimate, while revenue of $1.43 billion also fell short of expectations.
• Shares opened at $72.83, up 1.8%, with the stock trading between a 52-week range of $57.34 and $76.99. Institutional investors own approximately 40.2% of the company.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be given a dividend of 0.32 per share on Monday, October 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 29th.

West Fraser Timber has a dividend payout ratio of 21.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect West Fraser Timber to earn $1.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 95.5%.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of WFG opened at $72.83 on Thursday. West Fraser Timber has a 52-week low of $57.34 and a 52-week high of $76.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.43. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of -4.72 and a beta of 1.00.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber will post -3.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFG. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,450,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,306,000 after buying an additional 321,102 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the second quarter valued at approximately $110,334,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter valued at $86,416,000. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 1,171,348 shares of the company's stock worth $71,755,000 after purchasing an additional 22,179 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake 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.

About West Fraser Timber

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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