Scotia Capital Inc. Sells 58,221 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. cut its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. by 55%, reducing its ownership to approximately $3.66 million, with a total of 47,575 shares after selling off 58,221 shares in Q1.
• Recent analysts' opinions on WFG vary, with TD Securities lowering their price target from $98.00 to $96.00 while rating it as a "buy" and Wall Street Zen downgrading it from "hold" to "sell".
• West Fraser reported a loss of $0.38 earnings per share last quarter, missing analyst estimates, with total revenue of $1.53 billion compared to expected $1.61 billion.

Scotia Capital Inc. lessened its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 55.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,575 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,221 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. owned 0.06% of West Fraser Timber worth $3,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter worth $487,000. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter worth $265,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in West Fraser Timber by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,361 shares of the company's stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 306,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,409,000 after buying an additional 73,335 shares during the period. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 0.1%

WFG traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.95. 109,252 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,132. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.61 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of -41.11 and a beta of 1.15.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 0.85% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. As a group, equities research 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis 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 Analyst Weigh In

WFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Monday, July 21st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Company 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.