Royal Bank of Canada Lowers West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Price Target to $99.00

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $117.00 to $99.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $110.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $100.40.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

NYSE:WFG traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.89. The stock had a trading volume of 50,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,781. West Fraser Timber has a twelve month low of $69.48 and a twelve month high of $102.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -347.14 and a beta of 1.21.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.15). West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 0.08% and a positive return on equity of 0.88%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. West Fraser Timber's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -752.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFG. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,041,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319,843 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,605,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,126,000 after buying an additional 780,313 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 200.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 315,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,265,000 after buying an additional 210,107 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in West Fraser Timber by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 304,826 shares of the company's stock worth $26,384,000 after acquiring an additional 129,378 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.23% of the company's stock.

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.