George Weston (TSE:WN) Sets New 52-Week High at $219.34

Shares of George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$219.34 and last traded at C$219.22, with a volume of 94703 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$217.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on George Weston from C$196.00 to C$220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. CIBC lifted their price objective on George Weston from C$235.00 to C$254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Desjardins lifted their price objective on George Weston from C$212.00 to C$232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price objective on George Weston from C$246.00 to C$242.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$229.67.

George Weston Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of C$28.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$205.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$190.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 171.94.

George Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 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 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Insider Transactions at George Weston

In other news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$218.50, for a total transaction of C$32,775.00. In related news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$218.50, for a total transaction of C$32,775.00. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$207.04, for a total value of C$31,884.16. Insiders have sold a total of 13,604 shares of company stock worth $2,737,630 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 58.98% 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.