The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New Investment in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 182,731 shares of West Fraser Timber, valued at approximately $12.36 million, giving it a 0.23% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 40.23% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a mixed outlook, with four Buy, three Hold, and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $83.20.
• West Fraser reported a quarterly loss of $0.78 per share, missing estimates, while revenue of $1.43 billion also fell short of expectations. The company continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.32, equivalent to a 1.9% yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 182,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,360,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.23% of West Fraser Timber at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. EFG International AG acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter worth about $224,000. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WFG shares. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen cut their price target on West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Fraser Mackenzie reduced their price target on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.20.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of WFG stock opened at $68.06 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $68.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 0.83. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1-year low of $57.34 and a 1-year high of $76.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 1.00.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.08). West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 22.98% and a negative return on equity of 10.84%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.77 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -8.29%.

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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