Royal Bank of Canada Has $223.07 Million Position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. by 2.7%, now owning approximately 3.76% of the company, valued at around $223 million.
• West Fraser Timber recently reported a quarterly loss with earnings per share of ($0.38), falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.36, and had revenues of $1.53 billion.
• The company's stock has shown slight movement, up 0.1% recently, with analysts giving it a moderate buy rating and an average price target of $100.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,899,218 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,401 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 3.76% of West Fraser Timber worth $223,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 202.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 395,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,399,000 after purchasing an additional 264,322 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position 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 last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 200.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 315,019 shares of the company's stock worth $27,265,000 after buying an additional 210,107 shares in the last quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 202.9% during the first quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 84,374 shares of the company's stock worth $6,480,000 after buying an additional 166,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 304,826 shares of the company's stock worth $26,384,000 after buying an additional 129,378 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

WFG traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.04. 293,781 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,040. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.88 and a beta of 1.15. 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 one year low of $68.63 and a one year high of $102.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.63.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WFG shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. TD Securities decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber presently has a consensus 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.