Scotiabank Has Strong Forecast for WFG FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Scotiabank slightly improved its FY2026 earnings estimate for West Fraser Timber, now expecting a loss of $3.52 per share versus a prior forecast of $3.57 loss. That is still better than the broader consensus estimate of a $3.97 loss.
• West Fraser Timber’s most recent quarterly results were weak, with EPS of -$2.40 missing analyst expectations by a wide margin, though revenue of $1.33 billion came in roughly in line with estimates.
• Broker sentiment remains mixed: the stock has a Hold average rating and an average target price of $83.60, while recent calls ranged from bullish upgrades to downgrades and sell ratings.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) - Analysts at Scotiabank raised their FY2026 earnings estimates for West Fraser Timber in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank analyst B. Isaacson now expects that the company will post earnings of ($3.52) per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of ($3.57). The consensus estimate for West Fraser Timber's current full-year earnings is ($3.97) per share.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($2.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($1.17). West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 21.86% and a negative return on equity of 9.67%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on WFG. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of West Fraser Timber from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.60.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

WFG stock opened at $70.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50-day moving average is $66.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.54. West Fraser Timber has a 1 year low of $57.34 and a 1 year high of $76.99.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,613,139 shares of the company's stock worth $220,799,000 after purchasing an additional 802,477 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,450,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,306,000 after buying an additional 321,102 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,836,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,668,000 after buying an additional 116,161 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at $91,014,000. Finally, Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 1,171,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,755,000 after buying an additional 22,179 shares during the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -8.51%.

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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