Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target Raised to C$172.00 at TD Securities

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price target boosted by TD Securities from C$168.00 to C$172.00 in a research note released on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock.

L has been the topic of several other research reports. CIBC raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$171.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a report on Friday, February 23rd. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$156.00 to C$159.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$148.27 to C$161.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Desjardins lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$148.00 to C$157.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$162.43.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$153.93 on Friday. Loblaw Companies has a fifty-two week low of C$110.52 and a fifty-two week high of C$155.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$149.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$133.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of C$47.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of C$14.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.58 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 8.4881297 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This is a boost from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is currently 27.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total transaction of C$1,947,558.04. In other news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$1,500,000.00. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total value of C$1,947,558.04. Insiders have sold a total of 71,495 shares of company stock worth $10,547,163 over the last quarter. 52.69% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.