George Weston (TSE:WN) PT Raised to C$212.00 at Desjardins

George Weston (TSE:WN - Free Report) had its price target increased by Desjardins from C$205.00 to C$212.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports.

WN has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Securities lifted their price objective on George Weston from C$226.00 to C$227.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of George Weston from C$172.00 to C$185.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, George Weston presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$216.67.

George Weston Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of TSE:WN traded up C$3.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching C$190.50. 168,425 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 109,544. George Weston has a 1 year low of C$144.41 and a 1 year high of C$194.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is C$181.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$170.65. The firm has a market cap of C$25.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

George Weston (TSE:WN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported C$2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that George Weston will post 11.8758003 EPS for the current year.

George Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is a positive change from George Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. George Weston's payout ratio is 26.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at George Weston

In related news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 1,086 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$176.24, for a total transaction of C$191,393.60. In related news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$181.41, for a total value of C$1,814,055.00. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 1,086 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$176.24, for a total value of C$191,393.60. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,008 shares of company stock valued at $24,350,724. 58.21% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.