George Weston (TSE:WN) Price Target Raised to C$227.00

George Weston (TSE:WN) had its target price upped by TD Securities from C$226.00 to C$227.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

WN has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of George Weston from C$172.00 to C$185.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, George Weston has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$216.67.

George Weston Price Performance

George Weston stock opened at C$188.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23. George Weston has a 52-week low of C$144.41 and a 52-week high of C$194.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$181.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$170.91. The firm has a market capitalization of C$25.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported C$2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. George Weston had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The business had revenue of C$14.70 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that George Weston will post 11.8758003 EPS for the current fiscal year.

George Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from George Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$144.88, for a total value of C$11,474,503.92. In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$144.88, for a total transaction of C$11,474,503.92. Also, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$181.41, for a total value of C$1,814,055.00. Insiders have sold a total of 151,008 shares of company stock valued at $24,350,724 over the last quarter. 58.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.