West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 11th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of 0.32 per share on Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%.

West Fraser Timber has a dividend payout ratio of 21.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect West Fraser Timber to earn $7.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.0%.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

NYSE:WFG traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $76.41. The stock had a trading volume of 32,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,092. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -363.86 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.07. West Fraser Timber has a 12-month low of $69.48 and a 12-month high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 0.88% and a negative net margin of 0.08%. On average, equities analysts expect that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in West Fraser Timber stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,878 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,640 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of West Fraser Timber worth $17,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $109.00 to $100.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities reduced their price target on West Fraser Timber from $99.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Fraser Timber from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.40.

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.