Scotiabank Predicts Lower Earnings 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 researchers at Scotiabank cut their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note issued to investors on Monday, July 28th. Scotiabank analyst B. Isaacson now expects that the company will post earnings of ($0.53) per share 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.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 0.85% and a negative net margin of 2.18%.

WFG has been the subject of several other reports. TD Securities dropped their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of WFG traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $69.75. 282,595 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 227,953. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.86 and a beta of 1.15. West Fraser Timber has a fifty-two week low of $68.63 and a fifty-two week high of $102.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $74.22 and its 200 day moving average is $77.09.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is -73.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,319,843 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter worth about $81,605,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,049 shares of the company's stock worth $187,126,000 after purchasing an additional 780,313 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 202.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 395,101 shares of the company's stock worth $30,399,000 after acquiring an additional 264,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 200.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 315,019 shares of the company's stock worth $27,265,000 after acquiring an additional 210,107 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.