Desjardins Raises Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target to C$72.00

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its target price hoisted by Desjardins from C$70.00 to C$72.00 in a report issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Desjardins’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.29% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotia boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$64.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank cut shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Loblaw Companies from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$68.00 to C$70.00 in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$71.00.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of L traded up C$0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$66.49. 347,725 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,291. Loblaw Companies has a fifty-two week low of C$52.92 and a fifty-two week high of C$69.59. The firm has a market capitalization of C$77.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$64.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$63.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$15.05 billion for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 4.29%. On average, equities analysts expect that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total transaction of C$670,000.00. Also, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$66.72, for a total transaction of C$321,590.40. Corporate insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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. The firm carries a robust private-label assortment, with top sellers like President’s Choice and No Name. In addition to its retail operations, Loblaw oversees a financial-services business, which provides credit card services and guaranteed investment certificates, and also operates its PC Optimum loyalty program.