Desjardins Increases Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target to C$157.00

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its target price boosted by Desjardins from C$148.00 to C$157.00 in a research note issued on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Desjardins’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.05% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$153.00 to C$156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. CIBC reduced their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$149.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$146.00 to C$148.27 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Loblaw Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$155.32.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of L stock traded down C$0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching C$152.35. 108,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 366,826. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$148.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$132.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of C$47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$110.52 and a 12 month high of C$154.70.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.92 by C$0.08. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 3.53%. The business had revenue of C$14.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.58 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Loblaw Companies will post 8.4881297 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total value of C$1,500,000.00. In other news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the firm’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 transaction of C$662,832.00. Also, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,163 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

About Loblaw Companies

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.