Trexquant Investment LP Takes $756,000 Position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., purchasing 9,831 shares valued at approximately $756,000.
• West Fraser Timber reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($0.38) EPS, missing analyst expectations, with revenues of $1.53 billion compared to estimates of $1.61 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, which provides an annualized yield of 1.7% despite a negative payout ratio of -73.14%.

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,980,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,974,000 after purchasing an additional 8,760 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,876,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,746 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 10.8% during the 1st 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. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,425,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,647,000 after purchasing an additional 68,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 875,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,385,000 after purchasing an additional 22,777 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on WFG shares. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 1.6%

West Fraser Timber stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.49. The stock had a trading volume of 142,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,469. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of -43.14 and a beta of 1.15. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52 week low of $68.63 and a 52 week 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.51.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.74). The firm 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%. Analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is presently -73.14%.

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.