George Weston (WN) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Tuesday

George Weston (TSE:WN) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, May 7th.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported C$2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 2.56%. The company had revenue of C$14.70 billion for the quarter.

George Weston Stock Up 0.5 %

George Weston stock opened at C$185.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of C$24.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.24. George Weston has a fifty-two week low of C$144.41 and a fifty-two week high of C$187.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$180.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$169.76.

George Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.713 per share. This represents a $2.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.88, for a total value of C$11,474,503.92. In other George Weston news, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$183.27, for a total value of C$422,079.10. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 151,008 shares of company stock worth $24,350,724. 58.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WN. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$172.00 to C$185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of George Weston from C$205.00 to C$215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$201.00.

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.