George Weston (TSE:WN) Given New C$196.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

George Weston (TSE:WN) had its price objective upped by BMO Capital Markets from C$185.00 to C$196.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WN. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$226.00 to C$227.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday. Desjardins increased their price target on George Weston from C$205.00 to C$212.00 in a report on Wednesday. CIBC upped their target price on George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, George Weston currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$216.67.

George Weston Price Performance

TSE:WN opened at C$190.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of C$25.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$181.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$170.65. George Weston has a 12 month low of C$144.41 and a 12 month high of C$194.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported C$2.51 earnings per share for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 2.56%. The company had revenue of C$14.70 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts expect that George Weston will post 11.8758003 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

George Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from George Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 26.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other George Weston news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$144.88, for a total transaction of C$11,474,503.92. In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction of C$11,474,503.92. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 1,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$176.24, for a total transaction of C$191,393.60. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,008 shares of company stock valued at $24,350,724. 58.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.