Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 254,220 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG - Free Report) by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 939,079 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 254,220 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 1.17% of West Fraser Timber worth $91,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 3,699 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 1st quarter valued at about $469,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 29,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 232,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,053,000 after acquiring an additional 3,249 shares during the last quarter. 40.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $111.60.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

NYSE:WFG traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $93.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 92,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,936. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $94.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.16. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.35 and a twelve month high of $102.40. The stock has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.77 and a beta of 1.18.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($1.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.87). West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 0.53% and a negative net margin of 1.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $0.237 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $0.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. West Fraser Timber's payout ratio is -74.22%.

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.