George Weston (TSE:WN) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock from a hold rating to an outperform rating. BMO Capital Markets now has a C$113.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of C$103.00. George Weston traded as high as C$106.99 and last traded at C$105.18, with a volume of 24532 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$103.87.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WN. Scotia reduced their price objective on George Weston from C$106.00 to C$102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their target price on George Weston from C$127.00 to C$117.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$111.00.

George Weston Trading Down 1.1%

The company has a market cap of C$39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 411.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$100.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$98.69.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported C$0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. George Weston had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 21.74%. The company had revenue of C$14.64 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that George Weston Limited will post 13.0245758 EPS for the current year.

George Weston Company Profile

George Weston is a holding company that operates through two subsidiaries encompassing retail and real estate. The first is Loblaw, the largest grocer in Canada, in which it has a 53% controlling stake. The second is Choice Properties, an open-ended real estate investment trust, where George Weston’s ownership sits close to 62%. The company sold Weston Foods, a North American bakery, in early 2022, which the firm had previously wholly owned. While the two remaining entities are separate, they operate under a contractual, as well as tacit, framework of strategic business partnerships.