West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WFG. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of West Fraser Timber from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. CIBC downgraded West Fraser Timber from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of West Fraser Timber in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on West Fraser Timber from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of West Fraser Timber from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Fraser Timber currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.00.

West Fraser Timber Stock Down 2.7%

WFG stock opened at $70.24 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.32. West Fraser Timber has a 1-year low of $57.34 and a 1-year high of $90.42. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.97 and a beta of 1.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Fraser Timber

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in West Fraser Timber by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 230,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,764,000 after buying an additional 6,640 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 11,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of West Fraser Timber by 27.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in West Fraser Timber by 2.6% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.23% of the company’s stock.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. (NYSE: WFG) is a leading North American diversified wood products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates a broad portfolio of manufacturing facilities that produce lumber, engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, as well as medium density fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, pulp and paper. West Fraser’s integrated production model spans harvesting, milling and finishing, allowing it to serve a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial construction markets.

Founded in 1955 as West Fraser Mills, the company has grown through both organic investment and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest lumber producers in the world.