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

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$229.67.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WN shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of George Weston from C$196.00 to C$220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of George Weston from C$235.00 to C$254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of George Weston from C$246.00 to C$242.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Desjardins upped their target price on shares of George Weston from C$212.00 to C$232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

George Weston Stock Performance

Shares of WN stock opened at C$219.60 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 171.94. George Weston has a 12-month low of C$144.41 and a 12-month high of C$229.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$218.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$200.66. The company has a market capitalization of C$29.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported C$2.93 earnings per share for the quarter. George Weston had a net margin of 2.06% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The company had revenue of C$14.09 billion during the quarter. Analysts expect that George Weston will post 13.0134582 EPS for the current fiscal year.

George Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. George Weston’s payout ratio is 36.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$21.34 per share, for a total transaction of C$32,010.00. In other George Weston news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$21.34 per share, with a total value of C$32,010.00. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$207.04, for a total value of C$31,884.16. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 8,400 shares of company stock worth $180,778 and sold 57,719 shares worth $12,951,952. 59.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

George Weston Company Profile

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.