Swiss National Bank Sells 8,400 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 158,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of West Fraser Timber worth $13,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFG. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 293,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,452,000 after purchasing an additional 108,670 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 607,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,565,000 after buying an additional 35,855 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth $412,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 383.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 74,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,296,000 after buying an additional 59,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 128.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 247,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,087,000 after acquiring an additional 138,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $109.00 to $100.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.00.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

WFG opened at $77.55 on Thursday. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $73.91 and a fifty-two week high of $102.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.77 and a 200 day moving average of $89.28. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -369.27 and a beta of 1.23.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by $0.63. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 0.08% and a positive return on equity of 0.88%. Equities research analysts predict that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. West Fraser Timber’s payout ratio is presently -609.52%.

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.