Raymond James Downgrades West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) to Moderate Buy

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Raymond James from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $115.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $120.00. Raymond James' target price points to a potential upside of 24.80% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank raised their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $113.60.

West Fraser Timber Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE WFG traded up $2.18 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $92.15. 219,491 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 174,853. West Fraser Timber has a 52-week low of $73.91 and a 52-week high of $102.40. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $90.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.80. The company has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -71.99 and a beta of 1.22.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 1.53% and a positive return on equity of 0.53%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WFG. FMR LLC raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 22.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,447,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,047,000 after purchasing an additional 266,298 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 939,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,429,000 after buying an additional 254,220 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in West Fraser Timber by 7.5% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 571,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,683,000 after buying an additional 39,651 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in West Fraser Timber by 1.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 305,316 shares of the company's stock worth $29,777,000 after buying an additional 4,945 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 128.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 247,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,087,000 after acquiring an additional 138,871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.