Western Forest Products (TSE:WEF) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Western Forest Products Inc. (TSE:WEF) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$18.76 and last traded at C$18.70, with a volume of 27521 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$18.58.

Western Forest Products News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Forest Products this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Kernwood Limited reported a string of insider sales in Western Forest Products over several trading days, including a combined disposal of thousands of shares at prices near C$19.00-C$19.25, which may be interpreted as reduced insider confidence. Western Forest Products insider sales report
• Neutral Sentiment: The sales were relatively small compared with Kernwood Limited’s remaining position, so the operational impact on Western Forest Products is limited even if the transactions add a mild overhang to the stock. Western Forest Products insider sales report

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD lifted their price objective on shares of Western Forest Products from C$16.00 to C$17.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Western Forest Products from C$12.00 to C$13.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Western Forest Products from C$13.00 to C$14.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Western Forest Products has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$15.70.

Western Forest Products Stock Down 3.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.10, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of C$188.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.67, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$15.36 and its 200-day moving average is C$14.00.

Western Forest Products (TSE:WEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C($1.83) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$201.50 million for the quarter. Western Forest Products had a negative return on equity of 22.88% and a negative net margin of 12.23%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Forest Products Inc. will post 0.004992 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Forest Products

In related news, insider Kernwood Limited sold 2,700 shares of Western Forest Products stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$19.00, for a total value of C$51,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,900,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$36,115,200. This trade represents a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 10,600 shares of company stock worth $202,400 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

About Western Forest Products

Western Forest Products Inc is a Canada-based softwood forest products company. The company’s principal business activities include timber harvesting, reforestation, forest management, sawmilling logs into lumber and wood chips, and value-added lumber remanufacturing. Its operating business segment comprised of Timber harvesting, Log sales, and Lumber manufacturing and sales. The firm purchases and harvests logs which are then manufactured into lumber products at its sawmills, or sold. Canada and the United States, represent the company’s largest markets and contribute the vast majority of its total revenue.