Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Increases Stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 639,803 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,712 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned about 0.82% of West Fraser Timber worth $55,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter worth approximately $487,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 293,903 shares of the company's stock worth $25,452,000 after purchasing an additional 108,670 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 607,438 shares of the company's stock worth $52,565,000 after buying an additional 35,855 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter worth about $412,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 853,038 shares of the company's stock worth $73,830,000 after acquiring an additional 109,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on West Fraser Timber from $109.00 to $100.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James dropped their target price on West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $99.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.40.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE WFG traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.51. The company had a trading volume of 169,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,247. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -350.05 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $75.99 and a 200 day moving average of $85.71. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1-year low of $69.48 and a 1-year high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 0.88% and a negative net margin of 0.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio is presently -752.94%.

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.