Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Given New C$159.00 Price Target at National Bankshares

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price target raised by National Bankshares from C$156.00 to C$159.00 in a report issued on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on L. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$146.00 to C$148.27 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$149.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$162.43.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

TSE:L traded down C$0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting C$153.93. The stock had a trading volume of 236,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,227. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$110.52 and a twelve month high of C$155.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$149.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$133.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41. The company has a market capitalization of C$47.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.92 by C$0.08. The firm had revenue of C$14.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.58 billion. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 3.53%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 8.4881297 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. This is a positive change from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 27.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total transaction of C$1,947,558.04. In related news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total value of C$662,832.00. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total value of C$1,947,558.04. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,163. 52.69% of the stock is owned by 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.