Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target Raised to C$72.00

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price objective hoisted by National Bank Financial from C$70.00 to C$72.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,BayStreet reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities raised Loblaw Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD set a C$75.00 price target on Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Scotia upped their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$64.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Desjardins raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$73.00.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of L opened at C$68.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 151.15, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$63.11 and a 200-day moving average price of C$63.21. Loblaw Companies has a fifty-two week low of C$54.44 and a fifty-two week high of C$71.06. The stock has a market capitalization of C$79.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.02.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$15.05 billion for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 25.25%. Equities analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.1552 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.51%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, insider David Markwell sold 56,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$62.07, for a total value of C$3,490,816.80. Also, insider Per Bank sold 39,762 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$62.01, for a total value of C$2,465,641.62. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 203,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$12,626,662.23. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. Insiders sold 324,121 shares of company stock valued at $20,118,530 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

About Loblaw Companies

Loblaw is Canada’s food and pharmacy leader, and the nation’s largest retailer. Loblaw provides Canadians with grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, financial services and wireless mobile products and services. With more than 2,800 corporate franchised and Associate-owned locations, Loblaw, its franchisees and Associate-owners employ more than 220,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada’s largest private sector employers. Loblaw’s purpose – Live Life Well® – puts first the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion transactions annually in the company’s stores.