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

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$92.63.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on L. National Bank Financial upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$62.00 to C$66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$68.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$68.00 to C$72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$63.00 to C$68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of TSE:L opened at C$63.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is C$64.00 and its 200 day moving average is C$60.26. Loblaw Companies has a 1 year low of C$45.47 and a 1 year high of C$69.59. The firm has a market capitalization of C$74.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 227.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported C$0.67 earnings per share for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 24.03% and a net margin of 4.17%. On average, research analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.1411 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.84%.

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.