Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Increases Dividend to $0.51 Per Share

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 1st, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a dividend of 0.513 per share on Monday, July 1st. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of L stock traded up C$1.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting C$154.07. The company had a trading volume of 15,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,437. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$110.52 and a 12 month high of C$154.70. The firm has a market capitalization of C$47.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$149.05 and its 200 day moving average is C$133.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.25.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on L shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$146.00 to C$148.27 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TD Securities raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. CIBC dropped their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$149.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Desjardins lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$148.00 to C$157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, National Bankshares lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$153.00 to C$156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$155.32.

Insider Activity

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total transaction of C$1,947,558.04. In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total transaction of C$1,947,558.04. Also, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$2,487,450.00. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock worth $10,547,163. 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.