West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Shares Acquired by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 232,019 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,249 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.29% of West Fraser Timber worth $20,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,813,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,820,000 after purchasing an additional 28,399 shares during the period. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 1,134,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,533,000 after purchasing an additional 9,336 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,008,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,306,000 after purchasing an additional 53,002 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,413,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 760,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,064,000 after acquiring an additional 43,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

West Fraser Timber stock traded up $3.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 192,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,286. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $78.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.09. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12 month low of $64.11 and a 12 month high of $89.57. The company has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a PE ratio of -72.59 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 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 business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. West Fraser Timber’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 26th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -105.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WFG. TD Securities upped their price objective 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 increased their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Five 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

West Fraser Timber 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.