TD Securities Issues Pessimistic Forecast for West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Stock Price

Key Points

• TD Securities has lowered its price target for West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) from $98.00 to $96.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating, indicating a potential upside of 33.15% from the stock's previous close.
• Other analysts have also adjusted their ratings, with Royal Bank of Canada lowering its target to $99.00, and Wall Street Zen reducing its rating from "hold" to "sell."
• West Fraser Timber reported a quarterly loss with earnings per share of ($0.38), well below the consensus estimate of $0.36, leading to a negative return on equity of 0.84%.
• Institutional investors currently own 40.23% of West Fraser Timber's stock, with several hedge funds increasing their stakes in the company recently.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at TD Securities from $98.00 to $96.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Securities' price objective suggests a potential upside of 33.15% from the stock's previous close.

WFG has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of 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, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:WFG traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.10. 108,286 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 203,649. West Fraser Timber has a fifty-two week low of $69.48 and a fifty-two week high of $102.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.20 and a beta of 1.15.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.74). West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 0.84% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. As a group, analysts expect that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of West Fraser Timber

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 34,717 shares of the company's stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 265.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Company 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.

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