George Weston (TSE:WN) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock from a hold rating to an outperform rating. BMO Capital Markets now has a C$113.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of C$103.00. George Weston traded as high as C$106.99 and last traded at C$105.18, with a volume of 24532 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$103.87.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price target on George Weston from C$127.00 to C$117.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotia cut their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$106.00 to C$102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$111.00.

George Weston Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of C$39.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.23, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$100.44 and a 200 day moving average price of C$98.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 411.08.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported C$0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 21.74% and a net margin of 1.80%.The firm had revenue of C$14.64 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that George Weston Limited will post 13.0245758 EPS for the current year.

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%. The company sold Weston Foods, a North American bakery, in early 2022, which the firm had previously wholly owned. While the two remaining entities are separate, they operate under a contractual, as well as tacit, framework of strategic business partnerships.