George Weston (TSE:WN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday. The stock traded as high as C$109.04 and last traded at C$109.04, with a volume of 17,137 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$105.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BMO Capital Markets raised George Weston from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from C$103.00 to C$113.00 in a report on Monday, July 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$113.00.

George Weston Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$40.47 billion, a PE ratio of 42.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is C$100.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$100.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 438.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.05.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported C$1.08 EPS for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 1.59%. The company had revenue of C$15.20 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that George Weston Limited will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$101.04, for a total value of C$1,010,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,011,807.44. The trade was a 33.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 70,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,017,600 over the last quarter. 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%. The company sold Weston Foods, a North American bakery, in early 2022, which the firm had previously wholly owned. While the two remaining entities are separate, they operate under a contractual, as well as tacit, framework of strategic business partnerships.