Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives C$71.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$71.00.

A number of research analysts have commented on L shares. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Scotia lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$64.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, National Bank Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$62.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of C$73.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 151.15. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$52.92 and a 12 month high of C$69.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$64.51 and its 200-day moving average price is C$63.65.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.66 earnings per share for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 25.25% and a net margin of 4.32%.The firm had revenue of C$15.05 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.1552 per share. This is a boost from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 24.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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