West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”, with one hold recommendation and four buy recommendations.
• The company's stock recently reported a 12-month price objective of $100.00 from brokers, while it is currently priced around $75.49.
• West Fraser Timber is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share on October 14th, with a dividend yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of -73.14%.

Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $100.00.

WFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered 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 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.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of WFG stock opened at $75.49 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.14 and a beta of 1.15. West Fraser Timber has a one year low of $68.63 and a one year high of $102.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 0.85% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. Analysts predict that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is -73.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFG. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 265.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 7,588.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 346.6% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

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.

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