The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 26,992 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 11.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 200,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,992 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $13,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 72.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 177.0% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

Shares of WFG opened at $64.75 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.19 and a beta of 1.00. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52 week low of $57.34 and a 52 week high of $76.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 2.06.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 22.98% and a negative return on equity of 10.84%. Equities analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is presently -8.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WFG. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial downgraded West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.20.

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.