Scotiabank Cuts Earnings Estimates for West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) – Equities research analysts at Scotiabank decreased their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of West Fraser Timber in a note issued to investors on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank analyst B. Isaacson now expects that the company will earn ($0.45) per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of ($0.16). Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for West Fraser Timber’s current full-year earnings is $2.03 per share.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.87). West Fraser Timber had a return on equity of 3.83% and a net margin of 2.23%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $111.60.

West Fraser Timber Stock Performance

NYSE WFG opened at $97.43 on Thursday. West Fraser Timber has a 1-year low of $64.11 and a 1-year high of $102.40. The company has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -80.52 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $0.237 dividend. This represents a $0.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -77.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the second quarter valued at about $52,645,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the second quarter valued at about $42,886,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 178.5% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 835,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,236,000 after acquiring an additional 535,708 shares during the period. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 152.3% during the second quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 279,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,474,000 after acquiring an additional 168,802 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Fraser Timber during the third quarter valued at about $12,370,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.