Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$155.32.

Several research firms recently issued reports on L. CIBC dropped their target price 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. 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 report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$146.00 to C$148.27 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total transaction of C$662,832.00. In other news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total transaction of C$662,832.00. Also, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$2,487,450.00. Insiders have sold a total of 71,495 shares of company stock worth $10,547,163 in the last 90 days. 52.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:L opened at C$152.84 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is C$149.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$133.58. The stock has a market capitalization of C$47.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Loblaw Companies has a 1 year low of C$110.52 and a 1 year high of C$154.70.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.92 by C$0.08. The company had revenue of C$14.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.58 billion. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 18.96%. As a group, research analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 8.4881297 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.446 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is presently 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.