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

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$199.38.

L has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. National Bankshares boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of TSE:L opened at C$186.25 on Wednesday. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$141.59 and a 12 month high of C$196.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11. The stock has a market cap of C$56.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$183.76 and a 200 day moving average of C$180.31.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the company’s 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. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.