George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$216.67.

Several brokerages have weighed in on WN. Desjardins raised their price target on George Weston from C$205.00 to C$212.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on George Weston from C$185.00 to C$196.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on George Weston from C$226.00 to C$227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other George Weston news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$190.49, for a total transaction of C$1,904,880.00. In related news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 1,307 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$193.25, for a total value of C$252,577.75. Also, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$190.49, for a total value of C$1,904,880.00. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,307 shares of company stock valued at $5,071,972. 58.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

George Weston Trading Up 0.0 %

George Weston stock opened at C$187.74 on Friday. George Weston has a 12-month low of C$144.41 and a 12-month high of C$198.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 159.31. The firm has a market capitalization of C$25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$188.55 and a 200 day moving average of C$178.06.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported C$2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 2.22%. The company had revenue of C$13.74 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that George Weston will post 12.1466667 earnings per share for the current year.

George Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from George Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.64%.

George Weston Company Profile

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.