George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of George Weston Limited (TSE:WN - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$229.67.

A number of analysts have recently commented on WN shares. TD Securities lowered their price target on George Weston from C$246.00 to C$242.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Desjardins boosted their price target on shares of George Weston from C$212.00 to C$232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. CIBC raised their price objective on George Weston from C$235.00 to C$254.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on George Weston from C$196.00 to C$220.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

George Weston Trading Up 0.8 %

TSE:WN traded up C$1.84 during trading hours on Monday, hitting C$227.00. 172,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 127,318. The company has a market capitalization of C$30.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 171.94. The company's 50 day moving average is C$217.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$199.43. George Weston has a twelve month low of C$144.41 and a twelve month high of C$229.22.

George Weston (TSE:WN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported C$2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$14.09 billion for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 2.06%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that George Weston will post 13.0828367 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

George Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. George Weston's payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other George Weston news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 4,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$226.89, for a total value of C$998,326.12. In related news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$222.51, for a total transaction of C$33,376.50. Also, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$226.89, for a total value of C$998,326.12. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 8,400 shares of company stock worth $180,778 and sold 20,854 shares worth $4,596,828. Corporate insiders own 59.12% of the company's stock.

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.