Brokerages Set West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Price Target at $100.00

Key Points

• West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from five research firms, with an average price target of $100.00 for the next twelve months.
• In the latest earnings report, the company missed analyst expectations, reporting a loss of ($0.38) earnings per share compared to a forecasted gain of $0.36.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, yielding approximately 1.77% annually, despite a negative payout ratio of -73.14%.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities decreased their target price on West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on West Fraser Timber from $117.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, July 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 10.4% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 126,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,723,000 after purchasing an additional 11,924 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter valued at $487,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 33.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 4,061 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 18.3% in the first quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,836,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,846,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,652,000 after acquiring an additional 12,874 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of WFG stock traded down $1.79 on Friday, hitting $69.60. The stock had a trading volume of 207,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 228,903. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.77 and a beta of 1.15. West Fraser Timber has a 1 year low of $69.21 and a 1 year high of $102.40. The company's 50 day moving average price is $74.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.20.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.18% and a negative return on equity of 0.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. Analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is -73.14%.

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.