Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from C$205.00 to C$217.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Loblaw Companies traded as high as C$194.21 and last traded at C$193.85, with a volume of 40704 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$192.63.

L has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$203.00 to C$202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Desjardins raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. National Bankshares upped their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$193.00.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is C$179.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$171.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of C$58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.06%.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

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.