943,034 Shares in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 943,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,605,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.21% of West Fraser Timber at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter valued at $407,000. Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 58,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,059,000 after acquiring an additional 13,800 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,846,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,652,000 after acquiring an additional 12,874 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,000. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

WFG stock opened at $78.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -374.71 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.55. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12 month low of $73.91 and a 12 month high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -609.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WFG. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $109.00 to $100.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

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.