Brokerages Set Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Price Target at C$153.29

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$153.29.

L has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Desjardins boosted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$133.00 to C$148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$137.00 to C$146.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. National Bankshares upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$149.00 to C$153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th.

Loblaw Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

TSE:L opened at C$149.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$144.45 and its 200 day moving average price is C$129.81. The company has a market capitalization of C$46.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41. Loblaw Companies has a 52-week low of C$110.52 and a 52-week high of C$154.70.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.92 by C$0.08. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 3.53%. The company had revenue of C$14.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.58 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 8.6261521 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.446 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total value of C$1,947,558.04. In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total value of C$1,947,558.04. Also, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$2,487,450.00. Insiders have sold 71,495 shares of company stock worth $10,547,163 over the last 90 days. 54.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.