Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$196.20 and last traded at C$195.60, with a volume of 207042 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$192.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on L. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank cut shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$199.38.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 1.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$183.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$182.47. 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 has a market capitalization of C$59.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total value of C$19,046,690.91. Also, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 11,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total transaction of C$2,109,706.39. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 141,456 shares of company stock worth $25,966,244. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.