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

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.60.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of -76.45 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.86.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. West Fraser Timber had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 3.83%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a $0.237 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $0.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -77.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter worth $76,413,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 2nd quarter worth $52,645,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 2nd quarter worth $42,886,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 178.5% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 835,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,236,000 after purchasing an additional 535,708 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 161.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 509,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,597,000 after purchasing an additional 314,750 shares during the period. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.