West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Sets New 52-Week High at $91.75

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $91.75 and last traded at $91.74, with a volume of 64728 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.70. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of -74.56 and a beta of 1.16.

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

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a $0.237 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $0.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -106.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth about $76,413,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth about $462,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 268,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,005,000 after acquiring an additional 60,823 shares during the last quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 140.2% during the fourth quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 7,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 361,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,054,000 after acquiring an additional 19,124 shares during the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is currently 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.