Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$176.43.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on L shares. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Desjardins boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$157.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. CIBC raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

L opened at C$177.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32. The company has a market cap of C$54.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$172.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$161.16. Loblaw Companies has a 12-month low of C$110.52 and a 12-month high of C$182.19.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported C$2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.14 by C$0.01. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.46% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of C$13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.07 billion. Research analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 9.5804503 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$48,884.02. In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$48,884.02. Also, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. Corporate insiders own 53.53% of the company’s stock.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

Loblaw Companies Limited, a food and pharmacy company, provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparels, general merchandise, financial services, and wireless mobile products and services in Canada. It operates in two segments, Retail and Financial Services. The Retail segment operates corporate and franchise-owned retail food, and associate-owned drug stores.