Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$199.38.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Desjardins upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. CIBC raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of L stock opened at C$189.43 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is C$183.56 and its 200 day moving average is C$180.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11. The stock has a market cap of C$57.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$141.59 and a twelve month high of C$196.49.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total value of C$399,297.45. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total value of C$19,046,690.91. 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.