George Weston (TSE:WN) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$275.34 and last traded at C$275.34, with a volume of 6717 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$270.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities upped their price objective on George Weston from C$256.00 to C$308.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Desjardins increased their price objective on George Weston from C$251.00 to C$300.00 in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of George Weston from C$241.00 to C$285.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of George Weston from C$268.00 to C$296.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$264.00 to C$284.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$282.42.

George Weston Stock Up 2.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 372.50. The stock has a market cap of C$35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.34, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$254.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$235.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at George Weston

In related news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$230.80, for a total value of C$2,308,031.00. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$239.90, for a total transaction of C$179,925.00. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $90,780 and sold 117,461 shares valued at $28,579,564. 59.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About George Weston

George Weston is a holding company that operates through two subsidiaries encompassing retail and real estate. The first is Loblaw, the largest grocer in Canada, in which it has a 53% controlling stake. The second is Choice Properties, an open-ended real estate investment trust, where George Weston’s ownership sits close to 62%.