West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Announces $0.32 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, which will be paid to stockholders on October 14th to those on record by September 25th.
• The company's dividend payout ratio is 21.9%, indicating strong coverage by earnings, with analysts expecting earnings of $7.53 per share next year.
• West Fraser Timber's stock increased by 3.7% to $76.83 with a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, despite reporting a recent quarterly loss of ($0.38) EPS.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a dividend of 0.32 per share on Tuesday, October 14th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th.

West Fraser Timber has a dividend payout ratio of 21.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Price Performance

WFG stock traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 216,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,236. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of -42.58 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. West Fraser Timber has a fifty-two week low of $68.63 and a fifty-two week high of $102.40. The company's 50 day moving average is $73.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.42.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.74). The business 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%. Equities research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

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.