Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 926,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,823 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 1.19% of West Fraser Timber worth $80,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 22.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,447,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,047,000 after purchasing an additional 266,298 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 853,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,830,000 after purchasing an additional 109,447 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 35,855 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 317,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,453,000 after purchasing an additional 119,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 305,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,945 shares during the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFG opened at $78.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.36. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of -372.10 and a beta of 1.23. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1 year low of $73.91 and a 1 year high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -609.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on WFG shares. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.