Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$199.38.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Insider Transactions at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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, Director Richard Dufresne sold 25,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total value of C$4,809,847.01. Insiders sold 141,456 shares of company stock valued at $25,966,244 over the last three months. 53.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Loblaw Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

L stock opened at C$196.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of C$59.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$184.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$182.86. Loblaw Companies has a fifty-two week low of C$145.80 and a fifty-two week high of C$197.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

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.