Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 659 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,594 shares of the company’s stock after selling 659 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $2,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in West Fraser Timber by 3.5% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $974,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 118,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,743 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in West Fraser Timber by 37.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 939,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,429,000 after buying an additional 254,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber during the third quarter worth $587,000. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.60.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of WFG stock opened at $98.17 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.88. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a one year low of $72.35 and a one year high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.87). The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 0.53% and a negative net margin of 1.53%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.237 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $0.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -73.44%.

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.