Analysts Set George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) Price Target at C$201.00

Shares of George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$201.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on WN shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on George Weston from C$172.00 to C$185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. CIBC increased their price target on George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of George Weston from C$205.00 to C$215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.88, for a total value of C$11,474,503.92. In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.88, for a total transaction of C$11,474,503.92. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 1,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$176.24, for a total value of C$191,393.60. Insiders sold a total of 151,008 shares of company stock valued at $24,350,724 over the last 90 days. 58.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

George Weston Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of George Weston stock opened at C$185.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$180.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$170.05. The firm has a market cap of C$24.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. George Weston has a 1 year low of C$144.41 and a 1 year high of C$187.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported C$2.51 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$14.70 billion for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 2.56%. Analysts expect that George Weston will post 11.876494 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

George Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.713 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. George Weston’s payout ratio is 26.51%.

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.