George Weston (TSE:WN) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as C$111.82 and last traded at C$111.42, with a volume of 25,799 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$108.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WN. BMO Capital Markets raised George Weston from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from C$103.00 to C$113.00 in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a C$134.00 price objective on George Weston and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$115.83.

George Weston Trading Up 2.1%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$102.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$100.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 438.92, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of C$41.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other George Weston news, insider Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$101.04, for a total value of C$1,010,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,011,807.44. This trade represents a 33.43% decrease in their position. In the last three months, insiders have sold 70,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,017,600. 59.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.