Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives C$69.25 Average Price Target from Analysts

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$69.25.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on L. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank cut Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Scotia reduced their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$65.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41. Loblaw Companies has a 12-month low of C$52.92 and a 12-month high of C$69.59. The company has a market capitalization of C$75.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$63.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$63.33.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.52 EPS for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The company had revenue of C$14.48 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.1552 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total value of C$670,000.00. Also, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$66.72, for a total value of C$321,590.40. 53.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Loblaw Companies

Loblaw is one of Canada’s largest grocery, pharmacy, and general merchandise retailers, operating the most expansive store footprint in Ontario and maintaining sizable presences in provinces like Quebec and British Columbia. Key grocery banners include Loblaw, No Frills, and Maxi, while its pharmaceutical operations are the product of its 2014 acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart. The firm carries a robust private-label assortment, with top sellers like President’s Choice and No Name. In addition to its retail operations, Loblaw oversees a financial-services business, which provides credit card services and guaranteed investment certificates, and also operates its PC Optimum loyalty program.