Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives C$197.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$201.88.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group set a C$225.00 price objective on Loblaw Companies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. CIBC boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. National Bankshares raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were 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 company insiders.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of L stock opened at C$184.57 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$186.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$176.53. Loblaw Companies has a one year low of C$126.15 and a one year high of C$196.49. The stock has a market cap of C$56.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.06%.

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.