George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$251.42.

WN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Desjardins lowered their price target on George Weston from C$255.00 to C$251.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on George Weston from C$266.00 to C$264.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank cut shares of George Weston from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$240.00 to C$241.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on shares of George Weston from C$269.00 to C$268.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

George Weston Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:WN opened at C$239.98 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is C$228.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$225.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 372.50, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.73. George Weston has a 1 year low of C$174.30 and a 1 year high of C$241.48. The stock has a market capitalization of C$31.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Insider Transactions at George Weston

In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 57,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$231.03, for a total transaction of C$13,275,441.29. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 250 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$231.30, for a total value of C$57,825.00. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 4,000 shares of company stock worth $90,780 and have sold 77,461 shares worth $17,949,441. Company insiders own 59.41% of the company’s stock.

George Weston Company Profile

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%.