105,440 Shares in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG Bought by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock purchased 105,440 shares of West Fraser Timber during the second quarter, establishing a stake worth approximately $7.14 million, or 0.13% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans neutral: West Fraser has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $83.20, compared with a recent share price of $68.89.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.78 per share, missing estimates, while revenue of $1.43 billion also fell short of forecasts. West Fraser continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.32, equivalent to a 1.9% annual yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 105,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,137,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of West Fraser Timber as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,832 shares of the company's stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,115,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,643 shares of the company's stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a "neutral" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered West Fraser Timber from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.20.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

Shares of West Fraser Timber stock opened at $68.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 1.00. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.38. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52 week low of $57.34 and a 52 week high of $76.99.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released 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). West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 10.84% and a negative net margin of 22.98%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.77 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio is presently -8.29%.

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.

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