West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Trading 4.2% Higher

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)’s stock price traded up 4.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $90.15 and last traded at $90.15. 16,002 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 161,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on West Fraser Timber from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.60.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.60 and a beta of 1.16.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. West Fraser Timber had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 3.83%. West Fraser Timber’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 26th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 26th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -105.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 60.0% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 100.0% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About West Fraser Timber

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.