George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) Raises Dividend to $0.82 Per Share

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.82 per share on Monday, July 1st. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from George Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71.

George Weston Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of WN traded up C$3.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching C$190.50. 168,425 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 109,544. The company 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23. George Weston has a 12-month low of C$144.41 and a 12-month high of C$194.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$181.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$170.65.

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. Research analysts forecast that George Weston will post 11.8758003 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price target on George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on George Weston from C$185.00 to C$196.00 in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 report on Thursday, February 29th. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of George Weston from C$226.00 to C$227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of George Weston from C$222.00 to C$235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$216.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$183.27, for a total value of C$422,079.10. In other George Weston news, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 2,303 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$181.65, for a total transaction of C$272,475.00. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,008 shares of company stock valued at $24,350,724. Company insiders own 58.21% of the company's stock.

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.