Loblaw powers Weston

Article Excerpt

GEORGE WESTON LTD. $109.58 (Toronto symbol WN; Shares outstanding: 127.9 million; Market cap: $14.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.7%) makes a number of products through Weston Foods. They include fresh and frozen bakery goods in Canada and biscuits, cookies, cones and wafers in the U.S. Weston also owns 47% of Loblaw (see page 63) and 5.6% of Choice Properties REIT (Toronto symbol CHP.UN). In the three months ended June 30, 2017, Weston’s revenue rose 3.3%, to $11.4 billion from $11.1 billion a year earlier. Excluding onetime items, earnings per share gained 7.1%, to $1.67 from $1.56. The increase is due to Loblaw’s strong quarterly earnings and its positive impact on Weston’s profit. George Weston is a buy buy…