National Bankshares Boosts Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target to C$159.00

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price target lifted by National Bankshares from C$156.00 to C$159.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

L has been the topic of a number of other reports. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$149.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$146.00 to C$148.27 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Desjardins upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$148.00 to C$157.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$162.43.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

L stock opened at C$153.93 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$149.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$133.99. The stock has a market cap of C$47.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. Loblaw Companies has a 1 year low of C$110.52 and a 1 year high of C$155.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.92 by C$0.08. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The firm had revenue of C$14.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.58 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 8.5138274 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 given a $0.513 dividend. This is a positive change from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is currently 30.60%.

Insider Transactions at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total value of C$2,487,450.00. In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total value of C$662,832.00. 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 sold 71,495 shares of company stock worth $10,547,163 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 53.26% of the company’s stock.

About Loblaw Companies

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.