Lightrock Netherlands B.V. Increases Stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Key Points

• Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 16.1% in Q4, buying 44,500 shares to hold 320,303 shares worth about $19.57 million, representing 0.42% of the company and roughly 2.0% of Lightrock's portfolio (its 11th largest holding).
• West Fraser posted Q4 EPS of ($2.42) which beat estimates while revenue of $1.17B was slightly below consensus; the company has negative net margin/ROE, pays a $0.32 quarterly dividend (2.0% yield), and carries an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $82.67 target.

Lightrock Netherlands B.V. lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,303 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 44,500 shares during the period. West Fraser Timber makes up about 2.0% of Lightrock Netherlands B.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. owned 0.42% of West Fraser Timber worth $19,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 552 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 212.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 780 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter worth $224,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,874 shares of the company's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WFG. Zacks Research upgraded West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.67.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 1.6%

WFG opened at $65.40 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.03. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of -5.37 and a beta of 1.09. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1 year low of $57.34 and a 1 year high of $78.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 2.13.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported ($2.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.71) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 17.15% and a negative return on equity of 5.69%. Sell-side analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio is currently -10.51%.

West Fraser Timber Profile

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. NYSE: WFG is a leading North American diversified wood products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates a broad portfolio of manufacturing facilities that produce lumber, engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, as well as medium density fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, pulp and paper. West Fraser's integrated production model spans harvesting, milling and finishing, allowing it to serve a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial construction markets.

Founded in 1955 as West Fraser Mills, the company has grown through both organic investment and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest lumber producers in the world.

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