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

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. 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 report on Thursday, February 29th. CIBC boosted their target price on George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, George Weston has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$216.67.

George Weston Trading Up 1.7 %

WN opened at C$190.50 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. The firm has a market cap of C$25.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. George Weston has a 52 week low of C$144.41 and a 52 week high of C$194.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$181.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$170.65.

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

George Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from George Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$183.27, for a total value of C$422,079.10. In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.88, for a total transaction of C$11,474,503.92. Also, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$183.27, for a total transaction of C$422,079.10. Insiders sold a total of 151,008 shares of company stock worth $24,350,724 over the last 90 days. 58.21% of the stock is owned by 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.