Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$199.38.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on L. Desjardins increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. National Bankshares raised their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Scotiabank cut Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Loblaw Companies Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of TSE L opened at C$186.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$56.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. Loblaw Companies has a 12-month low of C$141.59 and a 12-month high of C$196.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$183.76 and its 200-day moving average price is C$180.31.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. Insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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.