Critical Comparison: West Fraser Timber (WFG) & Its Competitors

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) is one of 15 public companies in the “BLDG PRD – WOOD” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare West Fraser Timber to related companies based on the strength of its risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

40.2% of West Fraser Timber shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.9% of shares of all “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of West Fraser Timber shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of shares of all “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

West Fraser Timber has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Fraser Timber’s competitors have a beta of 1.49, indicating that their average share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares West Fraser Timber and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Fraser Timber	0.03%	0.99%	0.78%
West Fraser Timber Competitors	7.65%	10.27%	6.04%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares West Fraser Timber and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Fraser Timber	$6.17 billion	-$5.00 million	-450.76
West Fraser Timber Competitors	$4.92 billion	$297.37 million	-12.10

West Fraser Timber has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its competitors. West Fraser Timber is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for West Fraser Timber and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Fraser Timber	0	0	5	0	3.00
West Fraser Timber Competitors	188	1156	1094	47	2.40

West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus target price of $100.40, indicating a potential upside of 31.02%. As a group, “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies have a potential upside of 19.96%. Given West Fraser Timber’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe West Fraser Timber is more favorable than its competitors.

Dividends

West Fraser Timber pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. West Fraser Timber pays out -752.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.7% and pay out 37.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. West Fraser Timber has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Summary

West Fraser Timber competitors beat West Fraser Timber on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

West Fraser Timber Company 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. The company also provides northern bleached softwood Kraft pulp and bleached chemical thermo-mechanical pulp used to produce various paper products, including printing and writing papers, paperboard products, tissue and towel products, and a variety of other paper grades. Further, it offers bioproducts, including bioenergy and biomaterial. Its products are used in home construction, repair and remodeling, papers, tissue, and box materials, and industrial applications. The company sells its products to major retail chains, contractor supply yards, and wholesalers, as well as industrial customers for further processing or as components for other products in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and internationally. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.