North West (TSE:NWC) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

The North West Company Inc. (TSE:NWC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$53.06 and last traded at C$52.89, with a volume of 4593 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$52.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWC has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of North West from C$44.00 to C$56.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of North West from C$52.00 to C$59.00 in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on North West from C$40.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Friday, September 6th.

North West Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 60.00. The firm has a market cap of C$2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is C$48.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$43.53.

North West (TSE:NWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported C$0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.71 by C$0.02. The company had revenue of C$646.49 million during the quarter. North West had a net margin of 5.25% and a return on equity of 19.76%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The North West Company Inc. will post 3.4924863 EPS for the current fiscal year.

North West Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from North West’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. North West’s dividend payout ratio is 58.39%.

Insider Transactions at North West

In related news, Senior Officer Michael Beaulieu sold 3,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$50.78, for a total transaction of C$178,847.16. In other news, Senior Officer Michael Beaulieu sold 3,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$50.78, for a total value of C$178,847.16. Also, Senior Officer Cole James Ashley Akerstream sold 1,899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$52.67, for a total transaction of C$100,020.33. Insiders have sold a total of 20,030 shares of company stock valued at $1,038,687 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About North West

The North West Company Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail of food and everyday products and services to rural communities and urban neighborhood markets in northern Canada, rural Alaska, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean. The company operates Northern stores, which offers food, financial services, and general merchandise; NorthMart stores that provides fresh food products, apparel, and health products and services; and Quickstop convenience stores that provides ready-to-eat food products, and fuel and related services.