Royal Bank of Canada Has $225.31 Million Position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its West Fraser Timber position by 10.3% in the first quarter, holding 3.45 million shares worth approximately $225.3 million, or 4.54% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 40.23% of WFG.
• West Fraser reported a quarterly loss of $0.78 per share, missing estimates by $0.08, while revenue of $1.43 billion also fell short of expectations. Analysts anticipate a full-year loss of $3.56 per share.
• WFG shares opened at $66.63, below the analyst consensus price target of $83.60. Despite mixed ratings, the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, yielding approximately 1.9% annually.

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,450,867 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 321,102 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 4.54% of West Fraser Timber worth $225,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in West Fraser Timber by 72.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 177.0% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 579 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of WFG opened at $66.63 on Thursday. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52 week low of $57.34 and a 52 week high of $76.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.58 and a 200-day moving average of $66.80.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 21.86% and a negative return on equity of 9.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on WFG shares. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Fraser Mackenzie reduced their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.60.

About West Fraser Timber

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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