George Weston (TSE:WN) Price Target Increased to C$227.00 by Analysts at TD Securities

George Weston (TSE:WN) had its price objective raised by TD Securities from C$226.00 to C$227.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on WN. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of George Weston from C$172.00 to C$185.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$216.67.

George Weston Trading Up 1.7 %

TSE:WN opened at C$190.50 on Monday. George Weston has a 1-year low of C$144.41 and a 1-year high of C$194.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$181.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$170.65. The firm has a market capitalization of C$25.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last posted 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 during the quarter. George Weston had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 19.71%. Sell-side analysts forecast that George Weston will post 11.8758003 earnings per share for the current year.

George Weston Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

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.