George Weston (TSE:WN) Rating Increased to Outperform at Scotiabank

George Weston (TSE:WN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a C$240.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of C$218.00. Scotiabank’s target price suggests a potential upside of 7.19% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on WN. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on George Weston from C$220.00 to C$221.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$242.00 to C$263.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of George Weston from C$254.00 to C$269.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of George Weston from C$253.00 to C$266.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Desjardins boosted their price objective on George Weston from C$232.00 to C$255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, George Weston currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$252.42.

George Weston Stock Performance

WN stock traded up C$1.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching C$223.90. The company had a trading volume of 86,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 99,340. The firm has a market capitalization of C$29.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$226.83 and a 200 day moving average price of C$218.60. George Weston has a fifty-two week low of C$163.70 and a fifty-two week high of C$239.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 171.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$221.72, for a total transaction of C$1,108,589.00. Also, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$235.45, for a total transaction of C$35,317.50. Insiders have sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $3,393,420 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 59.41% 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.