BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 81,394 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 74.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,195 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,394 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in West Fraser Timber were worth $2,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 60.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 496 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new stake in West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. US Bancorp DE grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,284 shares of the company's stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 3rd quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 76.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company's stock.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

Shares of WFG stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $95.48. The company had a trading volume of 61,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,909. The firm's fifty day moving average is $95.67 and its 200 day moving average is $87.52. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.56 and a 12 month high of $102.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.95 and a beta of 1.19.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.87). The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 0.53% and a negative net margin of 1.53%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $0.237 dividend. This represents a $0.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is currently -73.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WFG. Scotiabank lifted their target price on West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.60.

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.