West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• West Fraser Timber's stock hit a new 52-week low of $67.46, with the latest trade at $67.70 amid a trading volume of 28,164 shares.
• Several analysts have downgraded their ratings, including Wall Street Zen which cut it from "hold" to "sell," while TD Securities maintains a "buy" rating but lowered the price target to $96.00.
• The company reported a negative earnings per share of ($0.38), missing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share set to be paid on October 14th.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $67.46 and last traded at $67.70, with a volume of 28164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $98.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Fraser Timber from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 2.5%

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's 50 day moving average price is $72.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.41 and a beta of 1.15.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is currently -73.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 265.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 7,588.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $153,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in 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., 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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