West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with four buy ratings and one hold rating among the firms covering the stock.
• The company's stock opened at $71.97, with a 1-year low of $68.63 and a high of $102.40, alongside a market capitalization of $5.52 billion.
• West Fraser Timber recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, representing a yield of 1.8% and an annualized dividend of $1.28.

Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $100.00.

Several research firms have issued reports on WFG. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Monday, July 21st. 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. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price 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.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

NYSE:WFG opened at $71.9680 on Thursday. West Fraser Timber has a 1 year low of $68.63 and a 1 year high of $102.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $73.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of -41.12 and a beta of 1.15.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a negative return on equity of 0.85%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 3.3% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 3.8% during the first quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.6% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,868 shares of the company's stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.3% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 19,427 shares of the company's stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during 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.

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