Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target Raised to C$234.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from C$215.00 to C$234.00 in a report released on Monday morning,BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on L. TD Securities decreased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. CIBC upped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank raised shares of Loblaw Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$190.00 to C$215.00 in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$192.00 to C$207.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$204.88.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

TSE L opened at C$210.14 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is C$189.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$185.33. The firm has a market capitalization of C$63.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. Loblaw Companies has a 1-year low of C$146.49 and a 1-year high of C$212.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Director Richard Dufresne sold 25,783 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total value of C$4,809,847.01. Also, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 11,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total transaction of C$2,109,706.39. Insiders have sold a total of 141,456 shares of company stock worth $25,966,244 in the last ninety days. 53.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Loblaw Companies

Loblaw is one of Canada’s largest grocery, pharmacy, and general merchandise retailers, operating the most expansive store footprint in Ontario and maintaining sizable presences in provinces like Quebec and British Columbia. Key grocery banners include Loblaw, No Frills, and Maxi, while its pharmaceutical operations are the product of its 2014 acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart.