West Fraser Timber (WFG) Competitors

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

Do analysts prefer LPX or WFG?

Louisiana-Pacific currently has a consensus price target of $106.13, suggesting a potential upside of 17.42%. West Fraser Timber has a consensus price target of $100.00, suggesting a potential upside of 43.37%. Given West Fraser Timber's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe West Fraser Timber is more favorable than Louisiana-Pacific.

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

Which has better valuation and earnings, LPX or WFG?

Louisiana-Pacific has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Louisiana-Pacific	$2.94B	2.14	$420M	$5.70	15.86
West Fraser Timber	$6.17B	0.87	-$5M	-$1.75	-39.86

Is LPX or WFG a better dividend stock?

Louisiana-Pacific pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. West Fraser Timber pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Louisiana-Pacific pays out 19.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. West Fraser Timber pays out -73.1% 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. Louisiana-Pacific has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years and West Fraser Timber has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. West Fraser Timber is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of LPX or WFG?

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

Which has more risk and volatility, LPX or WFG?

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

Is LPX or WFG more profitable?

Louisiana-Pacific has a net margin of 13.74% compared to West Fraser Timber's net margin of -2.18%. Louisiana-Pacific's return on equity of 23.75% beat West Fraser Timber's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Louisiana-Pacific	13.74%	23.75%	15.50%
West Fraser Timber	-2.18%	-0.85%	-0.66%

Does the media favor LPX or WFG?

In the previous week, West Fraser Timber had 9 more articles in the media than Louisiana-Pacific. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for West Fraser Timber and 11 mentions for Louisiana-Pacific. Louisiana-Pacific's average media sentiment score of 0.75 beat West Fraser Timber's score of 0.74 indicating that Louisiana-Pacific is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Louisiana-Pacific	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
West Fraser Timber	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

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