Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives C$176.43 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$176.43.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on L. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Desjardins lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$157.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Loblaw Companies Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$174.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of C$168.73 and a 200 day moving average of C$158.31. The company has a market capitalization of C$53.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.17. Loblaw Companies has a fifty-two week low of C$110.52 and a fifty-two week high of C$176.88.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported C$2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$2.14 by C$0.01. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 3.46%. The firm had revenue of C$13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 8.5218888 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is currently 30.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total transaction of C$48,884.02. Also, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. Insiders have sold a total of 32,960 shares of company stock worth $5,146,349 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 53.53% of the company’s stock.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

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.