Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$204.88.

L has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$192.00 to C$207.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank raised shares of Loblaw Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from C$190.00 to C$215.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$234.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total transaction of C$19,046,690.91. Also, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 11,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total value of C$2,109,706.39. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 141,456 shares of company stock worth $25,966,244. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 1.3 %

TSE L opened at C$213.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11. Loblaw Companies has a 52 week low of C$146.49 and a 52 week high of C$213.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$191.26 and a 200-day moving average price of C$185.69. The company has a market cap of C$64.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

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.