Amundi Raises Position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Key Points

• Amundi increased its West Fraser Timber stake by 43.2% in the first quarter, purchasing 57,919 additional shares for a total holding of 192,016 shares valued at approximately $12.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 40.23% of the company.
• West Fraser reported a quarterly loss of $0.78 per share, missing estimates by $0.08, while revenue of $1.43 billion also fell short of expectations. Analysts forecast a full-year loss of $3.07 per share.
• The stock traded near $70.05, and analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $83.20. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, yielding approximately 1.8%.

Amundi grew its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 43.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,016 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,919 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.25% of West Fraser Timber worth $12,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 72.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,832 shares of the company's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,750 shares of the company's stock worth $3,115,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

NYSE WFG opened at $70.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.54 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's 50 day moving average is $67.86 and its 200-day moving average is $66.79. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12-month low of $57.34 and a 12-month high of $76.99.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WFG shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of West Fraser Timber from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Fraser Mackenzie decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.20.

West Fraser Timber 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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