West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Shares Acquired by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. by 10.4% during Q1, owning 126,605 shares valued at approximately $9.72 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• West Fraser Timber recently reported earnings of (-$0.38) per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate and demonstrating negative return on equity of -0.85%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.77% despite a dividend payout ratio of -73.14%.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,605 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,924 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.16% of West Fraser Timber worth $9,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,041,873 shares of the company's stock worth $436,861,000 after buying an additional 1,319,843 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,980,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,974,000 after purchasing an additional 8,760 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,846,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,652,000 after purchasing an additional 12,874 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,126,000 after purchasing an additional 780,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,605,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, July 21st. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 2.5%

WFG traded down $1.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $69.60. 207,986 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 228,903. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $74.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.20. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.77 and a beta of 1.15. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $69.21 and a fifty-two week high of $102.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a negative return on equity of 0.85%. As a group, analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is -73.14%.

About West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd., a diversified wood products company, engages in manufacturing, selling, marketing, and distributing lumber, engineered wood products, pulp, newsprint, wood chips, and other residuals and renewable energy. It offers spruce-pine-fir, douglas fir-larch, hem-fir, and southern yellow pine lumber, treated wood products, medium density fiberboard panels and plywood, oriented strand board, and laminated veneer lumber wood products, as well as particleboards.