West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG Shares Sold by Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec reduced its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. by 13.9%, selling 4,512 shares and holding 27,925 shares worth approximately $2.13 million at the end of the reporting period.
• In the first quarter, several hedge funds, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Gulf International Bank UK Ltd, dramatically increased their positions in the company, reflecting growing interest from institutional investors.
• West Fraser Timber reported a loss of $0.38 EPS, missing analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $1.53 billion, below expectations of $1.61 billion, contributing to a negative net margin of 2.18%.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec trimmed its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,925 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,512 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $2,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 138,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,982,000 after buying an additional 14,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 200.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 315,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,265,000 after buying an additional 210,107 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,662,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Securities decreased 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 report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of West Fraser Timber stock traded down $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.85. The company had a trading volume of 31,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,945. The company has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.33 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's fifty day moving average is $73.38 and its 200-day moving average is $74.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.89. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $68.63 and a fifty-two week high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.74). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio is -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.