West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Stock Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) shares crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $67.23 and traded as low as $66.35. West Fraser Timber shares last traded at $66.45, with a volume of 92,816 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised West Fraser Timber from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded West Fraser Timber to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.80 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.29.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.84) by ($0.19). West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 9.19% and a negative net margin of 20.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Equities research analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 29th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -9.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $156,000. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 55,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,819,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 1,445,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,462,000 after buying an additional 27,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.6% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,081,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. is an integrated forest products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1955 as a sawmill in Quesnel, the company has grown into a producer of wood-based building materials and other forest products. Its products include lumber, oriented strand board (OSB), plywood, medium-density fibreboard, laminated veneer lumber, pulp, paper and related products. West Fraser also uses wood residuals to produce items such as wood chips and renewable energy.