Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Trims Stock Position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.3% in the fourth 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,876,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,746 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 10.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,394,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,242,000 after purchasing an additional 232,558 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 5.0% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,425,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,647,000 after purchasing an additional 68,016 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.7% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 875,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,385,000 after purchasing an additional 22,777 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Securities lowered 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 1.6%

West Fraser Timber stock traded down $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.49. The stock had a trading volume of 142,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,469. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52-week low of $68.63 and a 52-week high of $102.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of -43.14 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.51.

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

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is currently -73.14%.

West Fraser Timber Company 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.