First Trust Advisors LP Sells 6,265 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,987 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,265 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $1,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WFG. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter valued at about $487,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 293,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,452,000 after acquiring an additional 108,670 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 607,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,565,000 after acquiring an additional 35,855 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc bought a new position in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth $412,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in West Fraser Timber by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 853,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,830,000 after purchasing an additional 109,447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WFG shares. TD Securities decreased 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $109.00 to $100.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $100.40.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

NYSE:WFG traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 107,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,377. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12 month low of $69.48 and a 12 month high of $102.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -355.19 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.19 and a 200-day moving average of $84.04.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.15). West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 0.88% and a negative net margin of 0.08%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is -752.94%.

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.