Desjardins Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for George Weston Limited (TSE:WN)

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) – Analysts at Desjardins increased their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of George Weston in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, May 8th. Desjardins analyst C. Li now anticipates that the company will earn $12.14 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $12.10. The consensus estimate for George Weston’s current full-year earnings is $11.88 per share.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of C$14.70 billion for the quarter.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on George Weston from C$200.00 to C$212.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of George Weston from C$222.00 to C$235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on George Weston from C$185.00 to C$196.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on George Weston from C$226.00 to C$227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$216.67.

George Weston Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WN opened at C$188.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$25.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. George Weston has a one year low of C$144.41 and a one year high of C$194.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$181.46 and a 200 day moving average price of C$170.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.23, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.24.

George Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from George Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. George Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 26.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 1,606 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$181.51, for a total transaction of C$291,506.51. In related news, Senior Officer Rashid Wasti sold 1,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$176.24, for a total value of C$191,393.60. Also, Senior Officer Andrew Michael Bunston sold 1,606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$181.51, for a total transaction of C$291,506.51. Insiders sold a total of 151,008 shares of company stock valued at $24,350,724 over the last three months. 58.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.