North West (TSE:NWC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

The North West Company Inc. (TSE:NWC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$52.28 and last traded at C$52.20, with a volume of 37199 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$51.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on NWC. TD Securities raised their target price on North West from C$52.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Friday, September 6th. CIBC raised their target price on North West from C$43.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on North West from C$44.00 to C$56.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on North West from C$40.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

North West Trading Down 1.7 %

The stock has a market cap of C$2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 60.00, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$47.11 and a 200-day moving average price of C$42.52.

North West (TSE:NWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported C$0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.71 by C$0.02. The company had revenue of C$646.49 million for the quarter. North West had a return on equity of 19.76% and a net margin of 5.25%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The North West Company Inc. will post 3.4924863 EPS for the current year.

North West Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. This is a boost from North West’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. North West’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.39%.

Insider Activity at North West

In other North West news, Senior Officer Michael Beaulieu sold 3,522 shares of North West stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$50.78, for a total value of C$178,847.16. In other North West news, Senior Officer David Michael Chatyrbok sold 3,000 shares of North West stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$51.65, for a total value of C$154,950.00. Also, Senior Officer Michael Beaulieu sold 3,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$50.78, for a total value of C$178,847.16. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,608 shares of company stock valued at $338,185. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

North West Company Profile

The North West Company Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail of food and everyday products and services to rural communities and urban neighborhood markets in northern Canada, rural Alaska, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean. The company operates Northern stores, which offers food, financial services, and general merchandise; NorthMart stores that provides fresh food products, apparel, and health products and services; and Quickstop convenience stores that provides ready-to-eat food products, and fuel and related services.