West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG Stock Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 747,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,042 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.95% of West Fraser Timber worth $51,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFG. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,450,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,306,000 after purchasing an additional 321,102 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the second quarter valued at about $110,334,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the second quarter valued at about $86,416,000. Atlas FRM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the second quarter valued at about $50,090,600. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 171.7% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 736,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,836,000 after buying an additional 465,694 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of West Fraser Timber stock opened at $67.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 1.12. 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 Co. Ltd. has a one year low of $57.83 and a one year high of $76.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.26.

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

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen raised West Fraser Timber from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded West Fraser Timber to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

About West Fraser Timber

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.