West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Shares Sold by Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,092,802 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,604 shares during the quarter. West Fraser Timber accounts for about 1.8% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned about 1.42% of West Fraser Timber worth $83,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $487,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at $265,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,846,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,652,000 after buying an additional 12,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 58,415 shares of the company's stock worth $5,059,000 after acquiring an additional 13,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFG traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.75. The stock had a trading volume of 282,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,953. 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 1-year low of $68.63 and a 1-year high of $102.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of -39.86 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.97.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio is currently -73.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WFG shares. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. TD Securities reduced their target price on 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.