Western Forest Products (TSE:WEF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Western Forest Products Inc. (TSE:WEF) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$19.82 and last traded at C$19.82, with a volume of 39041 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$18.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD boosted their price objective on Western Forest Products from C$19.00 to C$20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Western Forest Products from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Western Forest Products from C$12.50 to C$20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Forest Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$18.40.

Western Forest Products Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$17.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$15.77. The stock has a market cap of C$209.37 million, a PE ratio of -2.48, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.63, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Western Forest Products (TSE:WEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$1.10 EPS for the quarter. Western Forest Products had a negative net margin of 9.64% and a negative return on equity of 17.78%. The company had revenue of C$239.60 million for the quarter. Research analysts predict that Western Forest Products Inc. will post 0.004992 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kernwood Limited sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$19.00, for a total value of C$51,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,900,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$36,115,200. The trade was a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Elizabeth Kernaghan sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$19.05, for a total transaction of C$34,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,889,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$35,985,450. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. Insiders sold a total of 14,200 shares of company stock worth $270,980 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Western Forest Products Company Profile

Western Forest Products Inc is a Canada-based softwood forest products company. The company’s principal business activities include timber harvesting, reforestation, forest management, sawmilling logs into lumber and wood chips, and value-added lumber remanufacturing. Its operating business segment comprised of Timber harvesting, Log sales, and Lumber manufacturing and sales. The firm purchases and harvests logs which are then manufactured into lumber products at its sawmills, or sold. Canada and the United States, represent the company’s largest markets and contribute the vast majority of its total revenue.