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

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$69.25.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on L shares. Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Scotia decreased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities increased their target price on 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. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$63.00 to C$68.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 0.5%

TSE:L opened at C$61.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41. The stock has a market capitalization of C$71.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is C$62.12 and its 200 day moving average is C$62.61. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$52.92 and a 12 month high of C$69.59.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.52 EPS for the quarter. The company 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.1411 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.53%.

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.