West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $78.61, but opened at $82.05. West Fraser Timber shares last traded at $79.89, with a volume of 51,214 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.48. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 1.39% and a positive return on equity of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.52) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is -49.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $100.00 price target on shares of West Fraser Timber and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 1st quarter worth about $103,000. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 0.3 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -65.21 and a beta of 1.15.

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.