Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 24,100 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its position in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 57.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $1,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 72.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 177.0% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 579 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 0.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,115,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 1.1%

WFG stock opened at $69.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 2.06. The company has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of -4.50 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $68.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.79. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a one year low of $57.34 and a one year high of $76.99.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by ($0.08). West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 22.98% and a negative return on equity of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. As a group, analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -8.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Fraser Mackenzie dropped 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 research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on West Fraser Timber from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut West Fraser Timber from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued 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 $83.20.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

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.