West Fraser Timber (WFG) Competitors

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) and Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) are both mid-cap construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and risk.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in WFG or LPX?

40.2% of West Fraser Timber shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.7% of Louisiana-Pacific shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of West Fraser Timber shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Louisiana-Pacific shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor WFG or LPX?

In the previous week, Louisiana-Pacific had 9 more articles in the media than West Fraser Timber. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Louisiana-Pacific and 5 mentions for West Fraser Timber. West Fraser Timber's average media sentiment score of 1.61 beat Louisiana-Pacific's score of 1.50 indicating that West Fraser Timber is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
West Fraser Timber	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Louisiana-Pacific	13 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend WFG or LPX?

West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus price target of $100.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.75%. Louisiana-Pacific has a consensus price target of $106.13, indicating a potential upside of 6.73%. Given West Fraser Timber's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe West Fraser Timber is more favorable than Louisiana-Pacific.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Fraser Timber	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Louisiana-Pacific	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Which has better valuation & earnings, WFG or LPX?

Louisiana-Pacific has lower revenue, but higher earnings than West Fraser Timber. West Fraser Timber is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Louisiana-Pacific, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Fraser Timber	$5.83B	1.00	-$5M	-$1.75	-43.37
Louisiana-Pacific	$2.94B	2.35	$420M	$4.24	23.45

Is WFG or LPX a better dividend stock?

West Fraser Timber pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Louisiana-Pacific pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. West Fraser Timber pays out -73.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Louisiana-Pacific pays out 26.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. West Fraser Timber has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Louisiana-Pacific has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years. West Fraser Timber is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more volatility & risk, WFG or LPX?

West Fraser Timber has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Louisiana-Pacific has a beta of 1.8, meaning that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is WFG or LPX more profitable?

Louisiana-Pacific has a net margin of 10.34% compared to West Fraser Timber's net margin of -2.18%. Louisiana-Pacific's return on equity of 18.67% beat West Fraser Timber's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Fraser Timber	-2.18%	-0.85%	-0.66%
Louisiana-Pacific	10.34%	18.67%	12.19%

Summary

Louisiana-Pacific beats West Fraser Timber on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.