Quantbot Technologies LP Has $1.89 Million Position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. by 316.7%, owning 24,589 shares valued at $1.89 million after purchasing an additional 18,688 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for the stock, with TD Securities lowering their price target from $98.00 to $96.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating, and the consensus target price currently at $100.00.
• West Fraser reported a loss of $0.38 earnings per share last quarter, missing expectations, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 with a yield of 1.8%.

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 316.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,589 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,688 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,980,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,974,000 after acquiring an additional 8,760 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,876,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,931,000 after acquiring an additional 29,746 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,126,000 after acquiring an additional 780,313 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.7% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 875,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,385,000 after acquiring an additional 22,777 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 202.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 395,101 shares of the company's stock worth $30,399,000 after buying an additional 264,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 4.8%

West Fraser Timber stock traded up $3.4440 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.9040. The stock had a trading volume of 272,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,746. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $73.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.18. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a twelve month low of $68.63 and a twelve month high of $102.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.37 and a beta of 1.15.

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

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -73.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

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.