West Fraser Timber (WFG) Competitors

CI Financial (TSE:CIX) and West Fraser Timber (TSE:WFG) are both mid-cap construction materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, media sentiment, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Do analysts recommend CIX or WFG?

CI Financial currently has a consensus price target of C$29.36, suggesting a potential downside of 8.23%. West Fraser Timber has a consensus price target of C$142.00, suggesting a potential upside of 42.00%. Given West Fraser Timber's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe West Fraser Timber is more favorable than CI Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CI Financial	2 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.75
West Fraser Timber	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has more risk & volatility, CIX or WFG?

CI Financial has a beta of 1.67, indicating that its share price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Fraser Timber has a beta of 2.03, indicating that its share price is 103% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, CIX or WFG?

West Fraser Timber has higher revenue and earnings than CI Financial. CI Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Fraser Timber, 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
CI Financial	C$3.57B	1.29	-C$69.09M	-C$0.48	-66.69
West Fraser Timber	C$4.36B	1.28	-C$66.55M	-C$1.67	-59.79

Is CIX or WFG a better dividend stock?

CI Financial pays an annual dividend of C$0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. West Fraser Timber pays an annual dividend of C$1.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. CI Financial pays out -166.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. West Fraser Timber pays out -103.4% 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. CI Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. CI Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is CIX or WFG more profitable?

West Fraser Timber has a net margin of -1.53% compared to CI Financial's net margin of -1.94%. West Fraser Timber's return on equity of -1.33% beat CI Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CI Financial	-1.94%	-7.54%	4.87%
West Fraser Timber	-1.53%	-1.33%	2.18%

Does the media favor CIX or WFG?

In the previous week, West Fraser Timber had 1 more articles in the media than CI Financial. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for West Fraser Timber and 0 mentions for CI Financial. CI Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.00 equaled West Fraser Timber'saverage media sentiment score.

Company	Overall Sentiment
CI Financial	Neutral
West Fraser Timber	Neutral

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

15.0% of CI Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.4% of West Fraser Timber shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.8% of CI Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 33.7% of West Fraser Timber shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

West Fraser Timber beats CI Financial on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.