Brokers Issue Forecasts for West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.’s FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:WFG)

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) – Raymond James dropped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 24th. Raymond James analyst D. Swetlishoff now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $5.31 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $5.52. Raymond James currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for West Fraser Timber’s current full-year earnings is $3.66 per share. Raymond James also issued estimates for West Fraser Timber’s FY2025 earnings at $9.43 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WFG. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $97.00 target price on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Scotiabank set a $100.00 target price on West Fraser Timber and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.25.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 0.1 %

WFG opened at $78.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.06 and a beta of 1.15. West Fraser Timber has a 52 week low of $64.11 and a 52 week high of $90.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.48. West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 2.34% and a negative net margin of 1.39%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.52) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -49.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the third quarter worth $79,179,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter worth $76,413,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 161.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 509,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,597,000 after acquiring an additional 314,750 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 9.0% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,319,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,256,000 after acquiring an additional 191,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter worth $9,558,000. 40.23% of the stock is 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.