Private Management Group Inc. Sells 613 Shares of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Private Management Group Inc. decreased its holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,655 shares of the company’s stock after selling 613 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of West Fraser Timber worth $5,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WFG. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the third quarter worth approximately $79,179,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 9.0% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,319,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,256,000 after purchasing an additional 191,613 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,558,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the third quarter worth approximately $7,689,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 2,668.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 108,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,268,000 after purchasing an additional 104,386 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of WFG stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $78.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 262,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,272. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.70. The company has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.73 and a beta of 1.15. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $64.11 and a fifty-two week high of $90.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.48. West Fraser Timber had a positive return on equity of 1.29% and a negative net margin of 2.59%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.52) EPS. West Fraser Timber’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -27.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James increased their target price on West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Securities increased their target price on West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $100.00 price objective on West Fraser Timber and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.25.

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.