Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Holdings in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,124 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of West Fraser Timber worth $5,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter valued at about $81,605,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of West Fraser Timber by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 317,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,453,000 after buying an additional 119,841 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 853,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,830,000 after buying an additional 109,447 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 293,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,452,000 after buying an additional 108,670 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Fraser Timber by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 306,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,409,000 after acquiring an additional 73,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

Shares of West Fraser Timber stock opened at $74.57 on Tuesday. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 1 year low of $69.48 and a 1 year high of $102.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -355.10 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.74 and a 200 day moving average of $87.07.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

West Fraser Timber Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. West Fraser Timber’s dividend payout ratio is currently -609.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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