Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from C$70.00 to C$73.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 9.79% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Desjardins boosted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Scotia upped their price target 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. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of Loblaw Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$71.00.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of L stock traded up C$0.79 on Friday, reaching C$66.49. The company had a trading volume of 347,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,336,291. The stock has a market cap of C$77.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$64.13 and a 200-day moving average of C$63.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.66 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$15.05 billion for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 24.88%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was 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.

About Loblaw Companies

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.