George Weston (TSE:WN) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average of $167.04

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN - Get Free Report) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$167.04 and traded as high as C$179.42. George Weston shares last traded at C$177.25, with a volume of 77,008 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WN shares. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of George Weston from C$172.00 to C$185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on shares of George Weston from C$205.00 to C$215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$201.00.

George Weston Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is C$178.54 and its 200 day moving average price is C$167.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of C$23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. George Weston had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The firm had revenue of C$14.70 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that George Weston Limited will post 11.876494 earnings per share for the current year.

George Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.713 dividend. This represents a $2.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. George Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of the company'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. In related news, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of the 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 transaction of C$422,079.10. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 79,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.88, for a total transaction of C$11,474,503.92. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,008 shares of company stock worth $24,350,724. Insiders own 58.56% of the company's stock.

George Weston Company Profile

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.