Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 12,874 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,846,663 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,874 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $246,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WFG. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 383.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 74,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,296,000 after acquiring an additional 59,347 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the third quarter valued at about $258,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in West Fraser Timber by 35.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 26,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,574,000 after buying an additional 6,891 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 10.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 233,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,499,000 after buying an additional 14,662 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WFG opened at $73.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -350.10 and a beta of 1.21. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12 month low of $71.17 and a 12 month high of $102.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.29.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.55) by $0.63. West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 0.88% and a negative net margin of 0.08%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -609.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WFG shares. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James cut their price target on West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $109.00 to $100.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

About West Fraser Timber

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.