Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives C$178.29 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$178.29.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. National Bankshares lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$175.00 to C$188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Desjardins upped their price objective 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 increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

L stock opened at C$173.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$52.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$175.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$164.71. Loblaw Companies has a 52-week low of C$110.52 and a 52-week high of C$182.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported C$2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$2.14 by C$0.01. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 3.46%. The company had revenue of C$13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.07 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total transaction of C$27,084.39. In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total transaction of C$48,884.02. Also, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Loblaw Companies

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.