The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, July 25, edition that Raymond James analyst Daryl Swetlishoff has elevated his recommendation for West Fraser Timber to "strong buy" from "outperform," citing "the company's attractive value proposition given the lag to U.S.-based panel producer Louisiana Pacific over the past three months." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Swetlishoff elevated his share target to $120 (U.S.), up from $145 (Canadian). Analysts on average target the shares at $104.17 (U.S.). Mr. Swetlishoff says in a note: "While the sector outperformed over the past month (up 7 per cent vs. the TSX up 4 per cent), our analysis shows current market valuations imply unreasonably low trough multiples applied to trough earnings -- a function of stale broker estimates largely not reflecting reduced costs and stronger pricing, in our view. Admittedly, our refreshed financial estimates for 2Q23 are sitting well below the Street, however, we expect the market to pay more attention to improving fundamentals. As such, we recommend investors buy on potential dips as we expect stocks to move higher as the earnings recovery accelerates."
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