George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• George Weston Limited has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from six brokerages, with an average target price of C$287.75.
• Recent upward revisions in price targets by various analysts include Desjardins raising theirs from C$251.00 to C$300.00 and the Royal Bank of Canada increasing theirs from C$284.00 to C$316.00.
• Insider selling activity saw executives offload a total of 47,480 shares worth C$12.7 million over the last 90 days, indicating potential shifts in investor confidence.

Shares of George Weston Limited (TSE:WN - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$288.58.

A number of analysts have commented on WN shares. CIBC boosted their price objective on George Weston from C$268.00 to C$296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on George Weston from C$241.00 to C$285.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on George Weston from C$284.00 to C$316.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Desjardins upped their price objective on George Weston from C$251.00 to C$300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on George Weston from C$308.00 to C$313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday.

Insider Activity at George Weston

In other news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 5,329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$277.47, for a total transaction of C$1,478,612.05. Also, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,151 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$277.71, for a total transaction of C$597,360.23. Insiders have sold 47,480 shares of company stock valued at $12,706,095 in the last three months. 59.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

George Weston Price Performance

Shares of WN stock traded down C$2.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching C$265.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,042. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is C$268.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$249.40. The company has a market capitalization of C$34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.16, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.42. George Weston has a fifty-two week low of C$204.47 and a fifty-two week high of C$280.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 372.50.

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%.