Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. by 26.8%, acquiring an additional 56,964 shares to hold a total of 269,683 shares worth approximately $20.7 million.
• West Fraser Timber reported negative earnings per share of ($0.38) for the recent quarter, missing estimates, and had a revenue of $1.53 billion against analyst expectations of $1.61 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio currently at -73.14%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 269,683 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,964 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.35% of West Fraser Timber worth $20,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the 1st quarter valued at $756,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 32,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 6,511 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,425,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,647,000 after acquiring an additional 68,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,394,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,242,000 after acquiring an additional 232,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

West Fraser Timber stock traded up $2.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.04. 278,563 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 210,859. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $73.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.88 and a beta of 1.15. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1 year low of $68.63 and a 1 year high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, equities analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio is presently -73.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Securities dropped their target price on West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

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.