West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG Shares Newly Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 81,739 shares of West Fraser Timber during the second quarter, valued at approximately $5.5 million and representing about 0.10% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors also initiated sizable positions, bringing total institutional and hedge-fund ownership to 40.23% of West Fraser Timber.
• West Fraser missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $0.78 per share versus the $0.70 consensus estimate, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $85.20.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 81,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,533,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.10% of West Fraser Timber as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Robotti Robert acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,021,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the 2nd quarter valued at $110,334,000. NewGen Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in West Fraser Timber during the first quarter worth $6,529,000. Atlas FRM LLC bought a new position in West Fraser Timber during the second quarter worth $50,090,600. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the second quarter valued at $86,416,000. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFG opened at $71.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.64 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $69.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.75. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a one year low of $57.34 and a one year high of $76.99.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 10.84% and a negative net margin of 22.98%. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.8 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be 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 is Tuesday, September 29th. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WFG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.20.

West Fraser Timber Profile

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. is a diversified forest products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1955, the company has grown from a regional lumber producer into an international manufacturer and marketer of wood products, pulp and paper.

West Fraser produces dimensional lumber, engineered wood products, oriented strand board, plywood, pulp, newsprint and specialty papers. Its products are used in residential and commercial construction, repair and remodeling, packaging, printing and other industrial applications.

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