West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.87 EPS

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.87), Yahoo Finance reports. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 3.83%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 EPS.

West Fraser Timber Price Performance

NYSE:WFG traded up $1.93 on Friday, reaching $97.43. 293,765 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 160,060. The firm has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a PE ratio of -80.89 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.40. West Fraser Timber has a 12 month low of $64.11 and a 12 month high of $102.40.

West Fraser Timber Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of West Fraser Timber from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of West Fraser Timber from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on West Fraser Timber from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.60.

West Fraser Timber Company Profile

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.