Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as C$181.99 and last traded at C$181.42, with a volume of 4589 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$180.47.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is presently 31.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on L shares. CIBC lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Desjardins upped their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$157.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Loblaw Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$176.43.

Loblaw Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of C$55.21 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$170.41 and its 200 day moving average is C$159.46.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported C$2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.14 by C$0.01. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.46% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of C$13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.07 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Loblaw Companies Limited will post 9.4554243 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$48,884.02. Also, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. Company insiders own 53.53% of the company’s stock.

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.