George Weston (TSE:WN) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after TD Securities raised their price target on the stock from C$226.00 to C$227.00. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. George Weston traded as high as C$188.08 and last traded at C$188.27, with a volume of 51039 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$185.50.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on George Weston from C$172.00 to C$185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on 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. 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, George Weston currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$208.50.

Insider Transactions at George Weston

In other George Weston news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$181.41, for a total transaction of C$1,814,055.00. In other George Weston news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$181.41, for a total value of C$1,814,055.00. Also, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$183.27, for a total transaction of C$422,079.10. Insiders sold a total of 151,008 shares of company stock worth $24,350,724 in the last three months. Insiders own 58.21% of the company’s stock.

George Weston Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$180.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$170.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of C$25.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported C$2.51 earnings per share for the quarter. George Weston had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The firm had revenue of C$14.70 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that George Weston Limited will post 11.8758003 EPS for the current year.

George Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.713 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.49%.

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.