Brokerages Set George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) PT at C$201.00

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$201.00.

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

George Weston Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of TSE:WN opened at C$175.84 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is C$178.32 and its 200 day moving average is C$166.87. George Weston has a 1 year low of C$144.41 and a 1 year high of C$187.93. The firm has a market capitalization of C$23.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported C$2.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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, research analysts predict that George Weston will post 11.876494 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

George Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.713 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. George Weston’s payout ratio is currently 26.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at George Weston

In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$183.27, for a total value of C$422,079.10. Insiders sold 151,008 shares of company stock valued at $24,350,724 over the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.