Desjardins Equities Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L)

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) – Research analysts at Desjardins cut their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Loblaw Companies in a note issued to investors on Sunday, April 28th. Desjardins analyst C. Li now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $1.72 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.75. Desjardins currently has a “Hold” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Loblaw Companies’ current full-year earnings is $8.49 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for Loblaw Companies’ Q2 2024 earnings at $2.14 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.47 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.27 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on L. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$146.00 to C$148.27 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$149.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, National Bankshares upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$153.00 to C$156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$155.32.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 1.2 %

TSE L opened at C$152.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of C$47.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. Loblaw Companies has a one year low of C$110.52 and a one year high of C$154.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$149.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$133.58.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.92 by C$0.08. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The firm had revenue of C$14.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.58 billion.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total value of C$662,832.00. In other news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total value of C$1,500,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total transaction of C$662,832.00. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,163. Company insiders own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.446 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.30%.

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.