Analysts Set Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) PT at C$69.25

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$69.25.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on L. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Scotia decreased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$65.49 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$63.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$63.35. Loblaw Companies has a fifty-two week low of C$52.92 and a fifty-two week high of C$69.59. The firm has a market cap of C$76.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41.

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

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total transaction of C$670,000.00. Also, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of the business’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. 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. 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.