Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 75.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,100 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $2,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1,396.5% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 2,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber during the first quarter worth about $251,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 27.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

WFG stock opened at $60.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.51. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12-month low of $57.34 and a 12-month high of $100.33. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.00 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported ($2.63) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.72) by ($0.91). The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WFG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on West Fraser Timber from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $92.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. TD Securities cut 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 report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.