Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Insider Selling

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) hit a new 52-week low on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as C$0.02 and last traded at C$186.80, with a volume of 375667 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$189.43.

Specifically, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total transaction of C$19,046,690.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on L. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 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, Scotiabank cut Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$199.38.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of C$56.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$183.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$180.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 27.83%.

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.