West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Price Target Lowered to $86.00 at TD Cowen

Key Points

• TD Cowen cut its price target on West Fraser Timber to $86 (from $88) but kept a "buy" rating, which implies roughly a 37.6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed — four Buys, three Holds and one Sell — leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.60.
• West Fraser posted a sharp quarterly earnings miss (EPS of ($2.40) vs. ($1.23) expected), has negative margins and ROE, and its stock traded around $62.50 with a market cap of about $4.75 billion.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by analysts at TD Cowen from $88.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 37.59% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WFG. Zacks Research raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Fraser Mackenzie decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.60.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFG traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.50. 139,593 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 226,056. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business's fifty day moving average is $64.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.79. West Fraser Timber has a one year low of $57.34 and a one year high of $78.55. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of -4.16 and a beta of 1.09.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($2.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($1.17). West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 9.36% and a negative net margin of 21.86%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. As a group, analysts predict that West Fraser Timber will post -2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 91.6% in the third quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,671,846 shares of the company's stock worth $113,656,000 after purchasing an additional 799,422 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 31,861.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 896,852 shares of the company's stock worth $60,968,000 after purchasing an additional 894,046 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the third quarter worth about $1,358,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.4% in the third quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 275,803 shares of the company's stock worth $18,749,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 77.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,435 shares of the company's stock worth $3,837,000 after purchasing an additional 24,672 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. NYSE: WFG is a leading North American diversified wood products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates a broad portfolio of manufacturing facilities that produce lumber, engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, as well as medium density fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, pulp and paper. West Fraser's integrated production model spans harvesting, milling and finishing, allowing it to serve a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial construction markets.

Founded in 1955 as West Fraser Mills, the company has grown through both organic investment and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest lumber producers in the world.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.