Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Hits New 12-Month High at $157.60

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$157.60 and last traded at C$156.24, with a volume of 112059 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$154.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$156.00 to C$159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$168.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. CIBC lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$148.00 to C$157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$162.43.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$48.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is C$149.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$134.89.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.92 by C$0.08. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The company had revenue of C$14.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.58 billion. Research analysts expect that Loblaw Companies Limited will post 8.5138274 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is currently 30.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total transaction of C$662,832.00. In other news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$1,500,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total value of C$662,832.00. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock worth $10,547,163. Corporate insiders own 53.26% 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.