Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$176.43.

L has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Securities upped their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. National Bankshares increased their price target on 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. Desjardins lifted 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 upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

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 transaction of C$48,884.02. In other news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the firm’s 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$27,084.39. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the 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. 53.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of TSE:L opened at C$177.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of C$54.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$172.22 and its 200 day moving average is C$161.16. Loblaw Companies has a 12-month low of C$110.52 and a 12-month 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 data 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 net margin of 3.46% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of C$13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies will post 9.5804503 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

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.