Vontobel Holding Ltd. Cuts Stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 26.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 444,829 shares of the company's stock after selling 162,609 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.58% of West Fraser Timber worth $34,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WFG. FIL Ltd increased its stake in West Fraser Timber by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,041,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319,843 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter valued at $81,605,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in West Fraser Timber by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,126,000 after purchasing an additional 780,313 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in West Fraser Timber by 200.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 315,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,265,000 after purchasing an additional 210,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in West Fraser Timber by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 304,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,384,000 after purchasing an additional 129,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFG traded down $1.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.65. The stock had a trading volume of 139,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 173,171. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12 month low of $69.48 and a 12 month high of $102.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of -444.98 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $74.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.74.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.15). West Fraser Timber had a return on equity of 0.99% and a net margin of 0.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -752.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WFG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of 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. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $99.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.40.

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.