West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG Stock Holdings Increased by 1832 Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. by 5.0%, owning approximately 1.85% of the company, worth about $109.6 million as of the latest filing.
• West Fraser Timber's stock was recently rated with an average of "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus target price of $100.00, despite some analysts lowering their ratings.
• The company reported a loss of $0.38 per share in its latest earnings, missing expectations, and had revenues of $1.53 billion, below market forecasts.

1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,425,094 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,016 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned 1.85% of West Fraser Timber worth $109,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFG. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth about $487,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 138,435 shares of the company's stock worth $11,982,000 after purchasing an additional 14,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 61.8% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 1,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 2.4%

WFG stock traded down $1.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.16. The company had a trading volume of 59,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,419. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.83 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $73.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.11. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52 week low of $68.63 and a 52 week high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a negative return on equity of 0.85%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is currently -73.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.