Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,196 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of West Fraser Timber worth $2,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 265.1% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 346.6% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 1,396.5% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 2,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of WFG stock opened at $61.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.36 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 2.39. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52-week low of $57.34 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported ($2.63) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.72) by ($0.91). The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 4.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 25th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -38.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on West Fraser Timber from $92.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Sunday, October 26th. Zacks Research downgraded West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.25.

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.