Analysts Set George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) Price Target at C$229.67

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$229.67.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alannah Elizabeth Weston sold 36,865 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$226.64, for a total transaction of C$8,355,124.15. In other George Weston news, Director Alannah Elizabeth Weston sold 36,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$226.64, for a total value of C$8,355,124.15. Also, 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 value of C$998,326.12. Over the last three months, insiders bought 9,400 shares of company stock worth $202,958 and sold 57,719 shares worth $12,951,952. Insiders own 59.41% of the company’s stock.

George Weston Stock Down 0.8 %

George Weston stock opened at C$218.33 on Friday. George Weston has a fifty-two week low of C$145.04 and a fifty-two week high of C$229.22. 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 company has a market capitalization of C$28.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$221.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$204.52.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported C$2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 2.06%. The firm had revenue of C$14.09 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that George Weston will post 13.0245758 earnings per share for the current year.

George Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.94%.

About George Weston

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.