George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$229.67.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Securities decreased their target price on George Weston from C$246.00 to C$242.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on George Weston from C$196.00 to C$220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Desjardins boosted their price objective on George Weston from C$212.00 to C$232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on shares of George Weston from C$235.00 to C$254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$226.89, for a total transaction of C$998,326.12. In other news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$226.89, for a total transaction of C$998,326.12. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$222.51, for a total value of C$33,376.50. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 8,400 shares of company stock valued at $180,778 and have sold 20,854 shares valued at $4,596,828. 59.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

George Weston Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of TSE:WN opened at C$225.16 on Monday. George Weston has a 52-week low of C$144.41 and a 52-week high of C$229.22. The stock has a market capitalization of C$29.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 171.94, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is C$217.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$199.43.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported C$2.93 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$14.09 billion during the quarter. George Weston had a net margin of 2.06% and a return on equity of 17.52%. Analysts expect that George Weston will post 13.0828367 EPS for the current year.

George Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

George Weston Company Profile

George Weston Limited provides food and drug retailing, and financial services in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) and Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Choice Properties). The Loblaw segment provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparel, general merchandise, and financial services.