George Weston (TSE:WN) Downgraded by Scotiabank to Sector Perform

George Weston (TSE:WN) was downgraded by analysts at Scotiabank from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a C$241.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of C$240.00. Scotiabank’s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.78% from the stock’s previous close.

WN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Securities raised their price objective on George Weston from C$242.00 to C$263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$254.00 to C$269.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of George Weston from C$220.00 to C$221.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Desjardins upped their price target on George Weston from C$232.00 to C$255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on George Weston from C$253.00 to C$266.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$251.42.

George Weston Price Performance

WN traded down C$4.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting C$230.00. 92,209 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 120,434. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$223.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$223.17. George Weston has a 52-week low of C$174.30 and a 52-week high of C$239.79. The company has a market capitalization of C$29.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 372.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$235.45, for a total value of C$35,317.50. Also, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$224.95, for a total transaction of C$2,249,513.00. Company insiders own 59.41% of the company’s stock.

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%.