Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) from a hold rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has C$70.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of C$68.00.

L has been the subject of several other reports. Scotia lowered their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank lowered Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$69.50.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$64.55 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$63.65 and a 200-day moving average price of C$63.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.09. Loblaw Companies has a fifty-two week low of C$52.92 and a fifty-two week high of C$69.59. The company has a market capitalization of C$75.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13.

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

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.1552 per share. This is a boost from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 24.53%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In related news, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$66.72, for a total transaction of C$321,590.40. Also, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of C$670,000.00. Company insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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.