North West (TSE:NWC) Stock Price Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• North West shares slipped below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as C$50.70 versus a 200-day average of C$51.80, before last changing hands at C$51.58.
• Despite the weakness, analysts remain broadly positive: the stock has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of C$59.33, even after several firms trimmed their targets.
• The company recently reported Q2 earnings of C$0.56 per share on revenue of C$631.63 million and paid a quarterly dividend of C$0.41 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.2%.

The North West Company Inc. (TSE:NWC - Get Free Report) shares passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$51.80 and traded as low as C$50.70. North West shares last traded at C$51.58, with a volume of 112,410 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NWC. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of North West from C$63.00 to C$61.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of North West from C$63.00 to C$59.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price target on shares of North West from C$63.00 to C$58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded shares of North West to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of C$59.33.

North West Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.01, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of C$2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is C$50.57 and its 200-day moving average is C$51.80.

North West (TSE:NWC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported C$0.56 earnings per share for the quarter. North West had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 5.45%.The company had revenue of C$631.63 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The North West Company Inc. will post 3.4924863 earnings per share for the current year.

North West Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. North West's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.21%.

About North West

The North West Company Inc, through its subsidiaries, is a leading retailer of food and everyday products and services to rural communities and urban neighbourhoods in Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and the Caribbean. North West operates 230 stores under the trading names Northern, NorthMart, Giant Tiger, Alaska Commercial Company, Cost-U-Less and RiteWay Food Markets and has annualized sales of approximately CDN$2.6 billion.

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