Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Rating Increased to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Monday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have C$70.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of C$68.00.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on L. Scotia reduced their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$69.50.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of TSE L opened at C$65.48 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$63.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$63.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Loblaw Companies has a 1 year low of C$52.92 and a 1 year high of C$69.59. The firm has a market cap of C$76.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.52 earnings per share for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The firm had revenue of C$14.48 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a $0.1552 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is currently 24.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$66.72, for a total transaction of C$321,590.40. Also, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total value of C$670,000.00. Corporate insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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. The firm carries a robust private-label assortment, with top sellers like President’s Choice and No Name. In addition to its retail operations, Loblaw oversees a financial-services business, which provides credit card services and guaranteed investment certificates, and also operates its PC Optimum loyalty program.