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

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$71.44.

L has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD set a C$75.00 price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Scotia boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$64.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Securities raised shares of Loblaw Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a C$70.00 target price on shares of Loblaw Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In related news, insider Mark William Henry Wilson sold 24,496 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$62.68, for a total transaction of C$1,535,409.28. Also, insider David Markwell sold 56,240 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$62.07, for a total value of C$3,490,816.80. Insiders sold a total of 324,121 shares of company stock worth $20,118,530 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$62.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 151.15. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$52.92 and a 12 month high of C$69.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$62.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$62.94. The stock has a market cap of C$71.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.06.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.66 EPS for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 25.25% and a net margin of 4.32%.The business had revenue of C$15.05 billion during the quarter. Research analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st were issued a $0.1552 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 24.51%.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

Loblaw is Canada’s food and pharmacy leader, and the nation’s largest retailer. Loblaw provides Canadians with grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, financial services and wireless mobile products and services. With more than 2,800 corporate franchised and Associate-owned locations, Loblaw, its franchisees and Associate-owners employ more than 220,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada’s largest private sector employers. Loblaw’s purpose – Live Life Well® – puts first the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion transactions annually in the company’s stores.