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

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$236.88.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on L. Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$185.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$207.00 to C$234.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. CIBC lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$208.00 to C$234.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$210.00 to C$253.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 1.1%

L opened at C$218.17 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$204.39 and a 200 day moving average price of C$191.01. The company has a market cap of C$65.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. Loblaw Companies has a 1 year low of C$152.39 and a 1 year high of C$229.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Senior Officer Jeffrey Francis Leger sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$227.50, for a total transaction of C$455,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 11,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total value of C$2,109,706.39. Insiders have sold a total of 157,380 shares of company stock valued at $29,526,299 over the last quarter. 53.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.