Private Management Group Inc. Sells 613 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Private Management Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 69,655 shares of the company’s stock after selling 613 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $5,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,785,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,065,000 after buying an additional 39,929 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 16.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 47.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 155,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,244,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the third quarter valued at about $1,798,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 9.0% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,319,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,256,000 after buying an additional 191,613 shares during the period. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WFG traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $78.65. 262,693 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 143,272. The company has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.73 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.70. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12 month low of $64.11 and a 12 month high of $90.17.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.48. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 2.59% and a positive return on equity of 1.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.52) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -27.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Scotiabank set a $100.00 target price on shares of West Fraser Timber and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of West Fraser Timber in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.25.

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.