George Weston (TSE:WN) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) shares 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Desjardins reduced their price objective on shares of 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 cut 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 George Weston from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from C$240.00 to C$241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$251.42.

George Weston Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$228.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$225.90. The stock has a market cap of C$31.54 billion, a PE ratio of 48.63, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 372.50, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Insider Transactions at George Weston

In other news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$230.80, for a total transaction of C$2,308,031.00. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$21.25 per share, for a total transaction of C$31,875.00. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 4,000 shares of company stock worth $90,780 and have sold 77,461 shares worth $17,949,441. 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%.