West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,836 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of West Fraser Timber worth $6,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 101,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,665,000 after acquiring an additional 2,701 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 38,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,272,000 after acquiring an additional 12,441 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 760,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,064,000 after purchasing an additional 43,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,008,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,306,000 after purchasing an additional 53,002 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WFG shares. TD Securities increased 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. Raymond James upped their price target on West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $100.00 target price on West Fraser Timber and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFG opened at $79.80 on Thursday. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1 year low of $64.11 and a 1 year high of $90.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $81.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of -65.95 and a beta of 1.19.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.48. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 1.39% and a positive return on equity of 2.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.52) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.73 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 Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -49.59%.

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.