Royal Bank Of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada lowered West Fraser Timber’s price target from $85 to $83 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying roughly 29% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: four analysts rate the stock a Buy, three a Hold, and one a Sell, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target price of $83.20.
• West Fraser reported a quarterly loss of $0.78 per share, missing estimates by $0.08, while revenue of $1.43 billion also fell short of expectations; the stock recently traded at $64.24.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $85.00 to $83.00 in a report released on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price indicates a potential upside of 29.19% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday, July 17th. Fraser Mackenzie dropped their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.20.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:WFG traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.24. 189,779 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 215,244. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.16 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. West Fraser Timber has a one year low of $57.34 and a one year high of $76.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.77.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The company 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 10.63% and a negative net margin of 22.98%. Sell-side analysts expect that West Fraser Timber will post -3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 72.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in West Fraser Timber by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 192,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,537,000 after purchasing an additional 57,919 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 10.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,450,867 shares of the company's stock worth $225,306,000 after buying an additional 321,102 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.8% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,115,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

About West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. NYSE: WFG is a leading North American diversified wood products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates a broad portfolio of manufacturing facilities that produce lumber, engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, as well as medium density fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, pulp and paper. West Fraser's integrated production model spans harvesting, milling and finishing, allowing it to serve a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial construction markets.

Founded in 1955 as West Fraser Mills, the company has grown through both organic investment and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest lumber producers in the world.

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