Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Stock

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price objective lifted by Scotiabank from C$61.00 to C$65.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

L has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$220.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. TD Securities raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$245.00 to C$250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$210.00 to C$253.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Desjardins increased their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$230.00 to C$235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$208.00 to C$234.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$199.25.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$56.88 on Thursday. Loblaw Companies has a one year low of C$42.56 and a one year high of C$59.70. The company has a market cap of C$17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$210.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$206.84.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.0%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$227.00, for a total transaction of C$908,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Jeffrey Francis Leger sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$230.50, for a total value of C$783,700.00. 53.77% of the stock is currently 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.