Scotiabank Lowers Earnings Estimates for West Fraser Timber

Key Points

• Scotiabank has significantly lowered its FY2025 earnings per share estimate for West Fraser Timber, projecting a loss of $0.53 instead of the previous forecast of $2.63.
• The stock has recently faced multiple rating adjustments, with Royal Bank of Canada and TD Securities both reducing their price targets, highlighting a general concern among analysts.
• West Fraser Timber reported (0.38) EPS for its last quarter, missing consensus estimates and indicating a continuing struggle with profitability.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Scotiabank cut their FY2025 EPS estimates for West Fraser Timber in a note issued to investors on Monday, July 28th. Scotiabank analyst B. Isaacson now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of ($0.53) for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.63. The consensus estimate for West Fraser Timber's current full-year earnings is $4.45 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for West Fraser Timber's FY2026 earnings at $2.34 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on WFG. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 0.6%

WFG traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.75. 282,595 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 227,953. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of -39.86 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $74.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.61. West Fraser Timber has a one year low of $68.63 and a one year high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a negative return on equity of 0.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFG. FIL Ltd increased its position in West Fraser Timber by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,041,873 shares of the company's stock worth $436,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319,843 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth $81,605,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,049 shares of the company's stock worth $187,126,000 after buying an additional 780,313 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 202.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 395,101 shares of the company's stock worth $30,399,000 after buying an additional 264,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 200.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 315,019 shares of the company's stock worth $27,265,000 after buying an additional 210,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -73.14%.

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.