George Weston (TSE:WN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as C$243.39 and last traded at C$242.64, with a volume of 7889 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$239.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WN shares. Desjardins dropped their price objective 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. CIBC dropped their price target on George Weston from C$269.00 to C$268.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of George Weston from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$240.00 to C$241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$266.00 to C$264.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, George Weston currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$251.42.

George Weston Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 372.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$229.21 and its 200 day moving average price is C$226.22. The stock has a market cap of C$32.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.64, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$231.30, for a total value of C$57,825.00. Also, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$230.80, for a total transaction of C$2,308,031.00. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 4,000 shares of company stock worth $90,780 and have sold 77,461 shares worth $17,949,441. Corporate 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%.