CIBC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Stock

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price objective raised by CIBC from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports.

L has been the subject of several other research reports. National Bankshares increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group set a C$225.00 price target on Loblaw Companies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities cut their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank cut Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Loblaw Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$199.38.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

TSE:L opened at C$175.89 on Friday. Loblaw Companies has a one year low of C$138.13 and a one year high of C$196.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of C$53.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$184.16 and a 200 day moving average price of C$180.03.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.