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

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$92.63.

L has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$63.00 to C$68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$68.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. National Bank Financial raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$62.00 to C$66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$65.00 to C$75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 0.9%

L stock opened at C$65.17 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is C$64.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$61.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 227.92. Loblaw Companies has a 52-week low of C$48.01 and a 52-week high of C$69.59. The firm has a market cap of C$76.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.30.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported C$0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 24.03%. The business had revenue of C$15.70 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were paid a $0.1411 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.84%.

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.