North West (TSE:NWC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

The North West Company Inc. (TSE:NWC) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as C$55.93 and last traded at C$55.81, with a volume of 6794 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$55.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on North West from C$58.00 to C$60.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of North West from C$59.00 to C$60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of North West to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of North West from C$59.00 to C$63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th.

North West Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 59.78. The firm has a market capitalization of C$2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$50.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$49.88.

North West Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 16th. North West’s payout ratio is currently 58.83%.

Insider Activity

In other North West news, Senior Officer Michael Beaulieu sold 1,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$54.77, for a total value of C$101,324.50. Also, Senior Officer Jim Caldwell sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$51.87, for a total transaction of C$77,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$47,512.92. This trade represents a 62.09 % decrease in their position. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,928 shares of company stock valued at $1,191,408. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

North West Company Profile

The North West Company Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail of food and everyday products and services to rural communities and urban neighborhood markets in northern Canada, rural Alaska, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean. The company operates Northern stores, which offers food, financial services, and general merchandise; NorthMart stores that provides fresh food products, apparel, and health products and services; and Quickstop convenience stores that provides ready-to-eat food products, and fuel and related services.