George Weston (TSE:WN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

George Weston Limited (TSE:WN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as C$111.49 and last traded at C$110.99, with a volume of 48,275 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$107.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on WN shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded George Weston from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from C$103.00 to C$113.00 in a report on Monday, July 20th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a C$134.00 target price on shares of George Weston and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$115.83.

George Weston Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a market capitalization of C$41.06 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is C$101.04 and its 200-day moving average is C$100.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 438.92, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

George Weston (TSE:WN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported C$1.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$15.20 billion during the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 1.59%. On average, analysts anticipate that George Weston Limited will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at George Weston

In other news, insider Richard Dufresne sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$98.56, for a total value of C$1,971,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,962,428.16. The trade was a 50.11% decrease in their position. Over the last three months, insiders sold 70,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,017,600. Insiders own 59.41% of the company’s stock.

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.