Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$197.00.

L has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Desjardins lifted their price objective 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 report on Thursday, November 14th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a C$225.00 price target on Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of L stock opened at C$188.97 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is C$185.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$176.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.36. Loblaw Companies has a 1 year low of C$126.15 and a 1 year high of C$196.49. The firm has a market cap of C$57.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is currently 31.06%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total value of C$399,297.45. Company insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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.