West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded West Fraser Timber from “strong sell” to “sell,” while analysts overall maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $83.20.
• West Fraser shares opened at $64.75 and were reported up 1.6%; the stock has traded between $57.34 and $76.99 over the past year.
• The company posted a quarterly loss of $0.78 per share, missing estimates by $0.08, while revenue of $1.43 billion fell short of the $1.45 billion consensus forecast.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.20.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of West Fraser Timber stock opened at $64.75 on Friday. West Fraser Timber has a 1 year low of $57.34 and a 1 year high of $76.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -4.19 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.76.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 10.84% and a negative net margin of 22.98%. Analysts expect that West Fraser Timber will post -3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,613,139 shares of the company's stock worth $220,799,000 after purchasing an additional 802,477 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 10.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,450,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,306,000 after buying an additional 321,102 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,836,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,668,000 after buying an additional 116,161 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter valued at about $91,014,000. Finally, Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 1,171,348 shares of the company's stock worth $71,755,000 after buying an additional 22,179 shares during the period. 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.

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