Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$177.14 and traded as high as C$178.64. Loblaw Companies shares last traded at C$177.62, with a volume of 310,818 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on L. UBS Group set a C$225.00 price target on shares of Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Desjardins raised their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$203.00 to C$202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$201.88.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is C$186.20 and its 200 day moving average is C$177.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of C$55.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total value of C$399,297.45. 53.77% of the stock is 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.