Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$203.39 and last traded at C$201.35, with a volume of 215149 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$198.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank lowered shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. CIBC upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities lowered their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Loblaw Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$199.38.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$185.01 and its 200 day moving average price is C$183.06. The firm has a market capitalization of C$61.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total value of C$19,046,690.91. Also, Director Richard Dufresne sold 25,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total transaction of C$4,809,847.01. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 141,456 shares of company stock worth $25,966,244. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.