Western Forest Products Inc. (WEF.TO) Buy,…

Western Forest Products Inc. (WEF.TO)

17.89

-0.65 (3.51%)

as of Jun 19, 2026, 8:00:00 pm Market Open.

209 watching

TOP PICK

Insiders were buying during their strike last year, then again this March. It is still attractive. This company has had a very consistent track record in terms of profitability. It trades at a discount. (Analysts’ price target is $1.05)

TOP PICK

Canada's biggest lumber producer in the west coast. Consistently profitable, but it got tangled in an 8-month strike last year. When that ended, the stock started to rise in February until the virus hit. There's lots of insider buying, which triggered him to buy. WEF trades at 0.6x book value, a third of 2014-18 levels, so this could bounce back 300%. (Analysts’ price target is $1.02)

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Feb 27/19, Down 34%) A smaller position for them. He was hoping housing and trade would improve. Unfortunately their workers went on strike for 7 months. The shares are poised to go higher with bullish US housing stats. Their exports to Asia as significant so he would be careful and watch this one. There is also some risk the dividend could be cut.

STRONG BUY

The deep cyclical are the place you want to put some money. It is so beaten down. It could fall another 50% but once we get CoVid19 under control, these deep cyclicals could have 300-500% gains. This is where the value is in this market but you need patience. He has never seen an opportunity like this in his career.

DON'T BUY

7.4% dividend and it is not safe--a 540% payout ratio. Lumber prices seem to have bottomed this year and should rise. Will WEF maintain the dividend? Free cash flow is negative. 4 cents of earnings in 2020, rising to 11 cents in 2021 is his outlook. Ranks near the bottom for him.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Jun 14/19, Down 22%) It's come down quite a lot but he still likes it. Slow down affected them a lot. He's moved on from this. 5% dividend yield. He bought West Fraser instead.

COMMENT

Their last quarter disappointed. He's not sure what the catalyst will be to push this up. The 7% dividend is safe and still healthy, unless product prices remain pressured. WEF has a good balance sheet and financial backing. He's owned this in the past. It could be fine if you hold it long term.

WATCH

It is his small position in lumber and forest products. You get into these multiyear periods of cyclicality. He thinks you are getting to a bottoming time. In a year to a year and a half you should see a recovery. One of their mills has been on strike for a couple of months and he sees a strong union trying to push for much better bargaining. They have been excluded from the index and that forced some selling. Now is a great time to be looking at these stocks.

COMMENT

Don't get into lumber stocks now. The US housing market is doing very well, but sadly Canadian lumber stocks don't benefit. He owns and likes this (and Interfor). Pity that these stocks don't get any love from the lumber price.

DON'T BUY

2017-8 saw an uptrend, then fell into a long-term downtrend. There is some improvement in lumber stocks, but they're still pressured. They haven't hit a bottom yet.

SELL

He is not hopeful. There is a downtrend line that it is running into from below. If we broke $1.13, from current levels then there more to this story than we know. Since Jun/18, its performance against the S&P has been terrible.

WATCH

Gotta watch to see what's happening in housing, especially in the US. Worried about shipping numbers since exports to China is down. Would wait for the stock to form a base.

PARTIAL BUY

Sector has been beaten down. Possibly something that you should look closely at. It is cyclical so it has its characteristics.

WEAK BUY

All lumber companies have been slammed this year with low prices. For WEF, demand from China and Japan has really gone down due to trade tensions between China and Canada. WEF still does real estate sales to bolster their income. WEF is near its low. You can pick at this, assuming we don't get a recession.

DON'T BUY

Forestry stocks have been tough since last September in a straight downtrend. He sold his forestry stocks last fall. Don't enter this sector yet. Not yet. WEF trades at 11x P/E. It pays a safe dividend. The street feels that lumber prices have abosrbed excess invenstory, so maybe this space is bottoming.

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