Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Upgraded at TD Securities

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) was upgraded by equities research analysts at TD Securities to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on L. Scotia lowered their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Loblaw Companies from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$68.00 to C$70.00 in a report on Monday, July 20th. Scotiabank cut shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$69.50.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

TSE:L opened at C$66.03 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is C$64.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$63.55. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$52.92 and a twelve month high of C$69.59. The stock has a market cap of C$76.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 4.29%.The firm had revenue of C$14.48 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total value of C$670,000.00. Also, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of the company’s 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 value of C$321,590.40. Insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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.