George Weston (TSE:WN) PT Raised to C$196.00 at BMO Capital Markets

George Weston (TSE:WN) had its price target hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from C$185.00 to C$196.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WN. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TD Securities upped their target price on George Weston from C$226.00 to C$227.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Desjardins lifted their price target on George Weston from C$205.00 to C$212.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$216.67.

George Weston Stock Up 1.7 %

TSE:WN opened at C$190.50 on Wednesday. George Weston has a 1-year low of C$144.41 and a 1-year high of C$194.02. The firm has a market capitalization of C$25.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is C$181.00 and its 200 day moving average price is C$170.65.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last issued 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 for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 2.56%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that George Weston will post 11.8758003 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

George Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$181.41, for a total value of C$1,814,055.00. In related news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$181.41, for a total transaction of C$1,814,055.00. Also, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. Insiders sold 151,008 shares of company stock valued at $24,350,724 over the last 90 days. 58.21% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.