Brokerages Set Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Price Target at C$162.43

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$162.43.

Several brokerages have weighed in on L. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$148.00 to C$157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. National Bankshares upped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$156.00 to C$159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$148.27 to C$161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. CIBC boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$168.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$156.01, for a total value of C$5,070,380.25. In related news, Senior Officer Melanie Singh sold 1,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$155.09, for a total transaction of C$227,046.05. Also, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 32,500 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$156.01, for a total transaction of C$5,070,380.25. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,929 shares of company stock valued at $13,160,644. Corporate insiders own 53.29% of the company’s stock.

Loblaw Companies Stock Up 1.9 %

Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$169.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$159.41 and its 200 day moving average price is C$149.00. The company has a market cap of C$52.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Loblaw Companies has a 1-year low of C$110.52 and a 1-year high of C$169.41.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported C$1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.70 by C$0.02. The company had revenue of C$13.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$13.29 billion. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 18.96%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 8.3923706 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This is a boost from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

About Loblaw Companies

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.