Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 465,694 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. $WFG

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 171.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 736,913 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 465,694 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $49,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 72.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 177.0% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 579 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,115,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

WFG opened at $68.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.63. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 52-week low of $57.34 and a 52-week high of $76.99.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative return on equity of 10.84% and a negative net margin of 22.98%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post -3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is presently -8.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WFG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered West Fraser Timber from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.20.

West Fraser Timber Profile

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. (NYSE: WFG) is a leading North American diversified wood products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates a broad portfolio of manufacturing facilities that produce lumber, engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, as well as medium density fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, pulp and paper. West Fraser’s integrated production model spans harvesting, milling and finishing, allowing it to serve a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial construction markets.

Founded in 1955 as West Fraser Mills, the company has grown through both organic investment and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest lumber producers in the world.