Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$162.43.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on L. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$148.27 to C$161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Securities boosted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$168.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$156.00 to C$159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of TSE L opened at C$156.75 on Thursday. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$110.52 and a twelve month high of C$157.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$149.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$134.89. The firm has a market cap of C$48.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.92 by C$0.08. The firm had revenue of C$14.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.58 billion. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 3.53%. Analysts expect that Loblaw Companies will post 8.5138274 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. This is a positive change from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is presently 30.60%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total transaction of C$1,947,558.04. In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total transaction of C$1,947,558.04. Also, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total transaction of C$662,832.00. Insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,163 in the last three months. 53.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

Loblaw Companies Limited, a food and pharmacy company, provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparels, general merchandise, financial services, and wireless mobile products and services in Canada. It operates in two segments, Retail and Financial Services. The Retail segment operates corporate and franchise-owned retail food, and associate-owned drug stores.