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

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$162.43.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on L shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$148.27 to C$161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. CIBC boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Securities upped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$168.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$156.00 to C$159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$1,500,000.00. In other news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total value of C$662,832.00. Also, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total value of C$1,500,000.00. Insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,163 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 53.26% of the company’s stock.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of L stock opened at C$153.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$149.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$133.99. Loblaw Companies has a 52 week low of C$110.52 and a 52 week high of C$155.22. The company has a market cap of C$47.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12.

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, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.92 by C$0.08. The business had revenue of C$14.53 billion during 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 8.5138274 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 30.60%.

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.