Short Interest in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Expands By 22.5%

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 940,800 shares, an increase of 22.5% from the February 28th total of 768,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 179,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

WFG stock opened at $78.69 on Thursday. West Fraser Timber has a 1 year low of $73.91 and a 1 year high of $102.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -374.71 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.55.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by $0.63. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 0.08% and a positive return on equity of 0.88%. As a group, analysts predict that West Fraser Timber will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Fraser Timber Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -609.52%.

Institutional Trading of West Fraser Timber

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFG. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter valued at about $339,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 304,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,384,000 after acquiring an additional 129,378 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 76.8% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,039,000 after acquiring an additional 15,252 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,980,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,974,000 after purchasing an additional 8,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in West Fraser Timber in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. 40.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective 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 decreased their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, West Fraser Timber has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

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.