Credit Agricole S A Sells 23,700 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A reduced its stake in West Fraser Timber by 19.9%, selling 23,700 shares and owning 95,491 shares valued at approximately $7.35 million as of the latest quarter.
• Several other institutional investors, including Allianz Asset Management and Principal Financial Group, increased their holdings in West Fraser Timber during the same period.
• West Fraser Timber's recent quarterly earnings report showed a loss of ($0.38) EPS, missing expectations, alongside a revenue of $1.53 billion against an anticipated $1.61 billion.

Credit Agricole S A lowered its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,491 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,700 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A owned about 0.12% of West Fraser Timber worth $7,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 34,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE:WFG traded up $3.4440 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.9040. 272,206 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 210,746. The firm's fifty day moving average is $73.58 and its 200-day moving average is $75.18. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12-month low of $68.63 and a 12-month high of $102.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.37 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.74). West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a negative return on equity of 0.85%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

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

West Fraser Timber Profile

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.