Analysts Set Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Target Price at C$197.00

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$201.88.

Several equities research analysts have commented on L shares. UBS Group set a C$225.00 target price on Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$203.00 to C$202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of TSE:L opened at C$181.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.36. Loblaw Companies has a 52-week low of C$129.00 and a 52-week high of C$196.49. The firm has a market capitalization of C$55.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$186.54 and a 200-day moving average price of C$177.01.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total value of C$399,297.45. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.