Head to Head Survey: West Fraser Timber (OTCMKTS:WFTBF) versus West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG)

West Fraser Timber (OTCMKTS:WFTBF) and West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

31.7% of West Fraser Timber shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.2% of West Fraser Timber shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of West Fraser Timber shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

West Fraser Timber pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. West Fraser Timber pays an annual dividend of $0.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. West Fraser Timber pays out 7.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. West Fraser Timber pays out -77.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. West Fraser Timber is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for West Fraser Timber and West Fraser Timber, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Fraser Timber	0	0	0	0	N/A
West Fraser Timber	0	0	4	1	3.20

West Fraser Timber has a consensus price target of $105.60, indicating a potential upside of 8.20%. Given West Fraser Timber’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe West Fraser Timber is more favorable than West Fraser Timber.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares West Fraser Timber and West Fraser Timber”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Fraser Timber	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3.84	25.39
West Fraser Timber	$6.55 billion	1.17	-$167.00 million	($1.21)	-80.66

West Fraser Timber has higher earnings, but lower revenue than West Fraser Timber. West Fraser Timber is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Fraser Timber, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares West Fraser Timber and West Fraser Timber’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Fraser Timber	N/A	N/A	N/A
West Fraser Timber	2.23%	3.83%	2.95%

Summary

West Fraser Timber beats West Fraser Timber on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., a diversified wood products company, produces and sells lumber, panels, and pulp and papers in western Canada and the southern United States. It offers spruce-pine-fir, Douglas Fir-Larch, Hem-Fir tree, and southern yellow pine lumber; treated wood products; and newsprint, wood chips, and other residuals and energy products. The company also provides medium density fiberboard panels and plywood; laminated veneer lumber wood products; and northern bleached softwood Kraft pulp used to produce various paper products, including printing and writing papers, specialty grades, and various tissue products. In addition, it offers bleached chemical thermo-mechanical pulp that is used to produce coated board grades, printing and writing paper, and paper towel/napkin grades, as well as specialty papers and tissue grades. The company exports lumber to the Far East, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. was founded in 1955 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

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. The company also provides northern bleached softwood Kraft pulp and bleached chemical thermo-mechanical pulp used to produce various paper products, including printing and writing papers, paperboard products, tissue and towel products, and a variety of other paper grades. Further, it offers bioproducts, including bioenergy and biomaterial. Its products are used in home construction, repair and remodeling, papers, tissue, and box materials, and industrial applications. The company sells its products to major retail chains, contractor supply yards, and wholesalers, as well as industrial customers for further processing or as components for other products in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and internationally. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.