Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $56.51 Million Stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 867,974 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,224 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 1.14% of West Fraser Timber worth $56,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFG. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at $91,014,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 89.5% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,720,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,910,000 after buying an additional 812,474 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in West Fraser Timber by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,613,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,799,000 after acquiring an additional 802,477 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter worth about $39,660,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 500.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 530,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,424,000 after purchasing an additional 442,138 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WFG shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Monday, April 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.60.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

NYSE:WFG opened at $67.73 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.34 and its 200-day moving average is $65.76. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1-year low of $57.34 and a 1-year high of $78.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.50 and a beta of 0.99.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($2.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($1.17). West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 21.86% and a negative return on equity of 9.67%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is -8.51%.

About West Fraser Timber

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.