George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$229.67.

WN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Desjardins lifted their price target on shares of George Weston from C$212.00 to C$232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on George Weston from C$196.00 to C$220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. CIBC upped their target price on George Weston from C$235.00 to C$254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of George Weston from C$246.00 to C$242.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other George Weston news, Director Alannah Elizabeth Weston sold 36,865 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$226.64, for a total value of C$8,355,124.15. In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$207.04, for a total transaction of C$31,884.16. Also, Director Alannah Elizabeth Weston sold 36,865 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$226.64, for a total value of C$8,355,124.15. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 8,400 shares of company stock worth $180,778 and have sold 57,719 shares worth $12,951,952. Company insiders own 59.24% of the company’s stock.

George Weston Price Performance

Shares of TSE:WN opened at C$219.60 on Monday. George Weston has a one year low of C$144.41 and a one year high of C$229.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 171.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of C$29.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$218.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$200.94.

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

George Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

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.