Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,129,526 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,804 shares during the period. West Fraser Timber comprises 1.6% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $86,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 60.0% in 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. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 3,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 3.6% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 8.6% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of WFG traded down $0.64 on Friday, hitting $87.32. 97,668 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 161,478. 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 market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.16 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.31. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1 year low of $64.11 and a 1 year high of $91.43.

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

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 26th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -105.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WFG. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.60.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

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.