Analysts Set Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Target Price at C$155.32

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$162.43.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on L. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$148.27 to C$161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Desjardins increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$148.00 to C$157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, National Bankshares raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$156.00 to C$159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

L stock opened at C$155.48 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$149.67 and its 200 day moving average price is C$134.58. The firm has a market cap of C$47.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.25. Loblaw Companies has a 1 year low of C$110.52 and a 1 year high of C$156.52.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of C$14.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.58 billion. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 3.53%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Loblaw Companies will post 8.5138274 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the 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 transaction of C$1,947,558.04. In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total value of C$1,500,000.00. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the company’s 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,163. Company insiders own 53.26% of the company’s stock.

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.