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

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$113.50.

Several research firms have weighed in on L. TD Securities upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$63.00 to C$65.00 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$57.50 to C$63.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. National Bankshares increased their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$60.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$58.50 to C$67.00 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from C$62.00 to C$67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 4th.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of TSE:L opened at C$61.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$72.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is C$60.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$114.86. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$43.32 and a 12 month high of C$63.43.

Loblaw Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be paid a $0.1411 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Loblaw Companies news, insider Kieran Barry Columb sold 40,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$59.50, for a total transaction of C$2,427,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 163,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$9,739,912. This trade represents a 19.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,044 shares of company stock worth $6,092,002. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.