West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.74 EPS

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.74), Zacks reports. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 0.85% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of WFG stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 217,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,520. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.21 and a beta of 1.15. West Fraser Timber has a one year low of $69.48 and a one year high of $102.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $74.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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 paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -73.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WFG. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target 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. TD Securities reduced their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in West Fraser Timber stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 230,878 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,640 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of West Fraser Timber worth $17,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.