1832 Asset Management L.P. Buys 535,708 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 178.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 835,774 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 535,708 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned about 1.05% of West Fraser Timber worth $72,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 3.6% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 8.6% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 100.0% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 1.4% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 36,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 40.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFG traded up $3.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $87.84. The stock had a trading volume of 192,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,286. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.69 and a 200-day moving average of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.33. The company has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.59 and a beta of 1.16. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12-month low of $64.11 and a 12-month high of $89.57.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.09). West Fraser Timber had a return on equity of 3.83% and a net margin of 2.23%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. West Fraser Timber’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is -105.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WFG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

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.