George Weston (TSE:WN) Downgraded by Scotiabank to “Sector Perform”

George Weston (TSE:WN) was downgraded by stock analysts at Scotiabank from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a C$241.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of C$240.00. Scotiabank’s target price suggests a potential upside of 4.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WN. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on George Weston from C$220.00 to C$221.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Securities raised their price target on George Weston from C$242.00 to C$263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$254.00 to C$269.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of George Weston from C$232.00 to C$255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of George Weston from C$253.00 to C$266.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$251.42.

George Weston Stock Performance

WN traded down C$4.47 during trading on Thursday, reaching C$230.00. 92,209 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 120,434. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 372.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$223.34 and a 200 day moving average of C$223.17. The stock has a market cap of C$29.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.04, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.42. George Weston has a 52 week low of C$174.30 and a 52 week high of C$239.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$224.95, for a total transaction of C$2,249,513.00. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$235.45, for a total transaction of C$35,317.50. 59.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

George Weston Company Profile

George Weston is a holding company that operates through two subsidiaries encompassing retail and real estate. The first is Loblaw, the largest grocer in Canada, in which it has a 53% controlling stake. The second is Choice Properties, an open-ended real estate investment trust, where George Weston’s ownership sits close to 62%.