Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Upgraded by TD Securities to Strong-Buy Rating

TD Securities upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on L. Scotia cut their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank cut Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Loblaw Companies from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$68.00 to C$70.00 in a report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$69.50.

Loblaw Companies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of L stock opened at C$66.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$64.05 and a 200-day moving average of C$63.55. The stock has a market cap of C$76.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. Loblaw Companies has a 52-week low of C$52.92 and a 52-week high of C$69.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.52 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$14.48 billion for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 24.88%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a $0.1552 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is currently 24.53%.

Insider Transactions at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total transaction of C$670,000.00. Also, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$66.72, for a total transaction of C$321,590.40. Company insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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.