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

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$244.50.

L has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$210.00 to C$253.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$245.00 to C$250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$234.00 to C$267.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, National Bankshares lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$235.00 to C$242.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

L opened at C$58.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11. Loblaw Companies has a 12-month low of C$42.56 and a 12-month high of C$59.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$220.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$209.38. The firm has a market capitalization of C$17.77 billion, a PE ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.5643 per share. This represents a $2.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Senior Officer Jeffrey Francis Leger sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$230.50, for a total transaction of C$783,700.00. Also, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$227.00, for a total transaction of C$908,000.00. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $2,186,700. Company insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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.