Reviewing West Fraser Timber (OTCMKTS:WFTBF) and Magnera (NYSE:MAGN)

Magnera (NYSE:MAGN) and West Fraser Timber (OTCMKTS:WFTBF) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

76.9% of Magnera shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.7% of West Fraser Timber shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Magnera shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Magnera and West Fraser Timber’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Magnera	-3.41%	-10.77%	-2.87%
West Fraser Timber	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Magnera and West Fraser Timber”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Magnera	$3.20 billion	0.14	-$159.00 million	($2.01)	-6.13
West Fraser Timber	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3.84	17.93

West Fraser Timber has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Magnera. Magnera is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Fraser Timber, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Magnera and West Fraser Timber, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Magnera	1	2	0	0	1.67
West Fraser Timber	0	0	0	0	0.00

Magnera presently has a consensus target price of $16.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.76%. Given Magnera’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Magnera is more favorable than West Fraser Timber.

About Magnera

Magnera’s purpose is to better the world with new possibilities made real. By continuously co-creating and innovating with our partners, we develop original material solutions that make a brighter future possible. With a breadth of technologies and a passion for what we create, Magnera’s solutions propel our customers’ goals forward and solve end-users’ problems, every day.

About West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., a diversified wood products company, produces and sells lumber, panels, and pulp and papers in western Canada and the southern United States. It offers spruce-pine-fir, Douglas Fir-Larch, Hem-Fir tree, and southern yellow pine lumber; treated wood products; and newsprint, wood chips, and other residuals and energy products. The company also provides medium density fiberboard panels and plywood; laminated veneer lumber wood products; and northern bleached softwood Kraft pulp used to produce various paper products, including printing and writing papers, specialty grades, and various tissue products. In addition, it offers bleached chemical thermo-mechanical pulp that is used to produce coated board grades, printing and writing paper, and paper towel/napkin grades, as well as specialty papers and tissue grades. The company exports lumber to the Far East, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. was founded in 1955 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.