West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research lowered shares of West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities cut their target price on West Fraser Timber from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Cibc Captl Mkts lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.00.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

NYSE WFG traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $69.89. 59,064 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 281,993. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of -20.87 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.32. West Fraser Timber has a 52-week low of $57.34 and a 52-week high of $88.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.13 and its 200-day moving average is $67.18.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is presently -38.21%.

Institutional Trading of West Fraser Timber

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 3.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 230,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,764,000 after purchasing an additional 6,640 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 11,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the second quarter worth $27,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 27.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.6% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. (NYSE: WFG) is a leading North American diversified wood products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates a broad portfolio of manufacturing facilities that produce lumber, engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, as well as medium density fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, pulp and paper. West Fraser’s integrated production model spans harvesting, milling and finishing, allowing it to serve a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial construction markets.

Founded in 1955 as West Fraser Mills, the company has grown through both organic investment and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest lumber producers in the world.