Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$197.00.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$203.00 to C$202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group set a C$225.00 price objective on Loblaw Companies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. CIBC lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Scotiabank upgraded Loblaw Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Finally, Desjardins increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total transaction of C$399,297.45. 53.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of TSE:L traded down C$0.45 on Tuesday, hitting C$188.52. 341,339 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 289,047. Loblaw Companies has a 1-year low of C$126.15 and a 1-year high of C$196.49. The company has a market capitalization of C$57.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm's 50-day moving average is C$185.85 and its 200 day moving average is C$176.02.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Loblaw Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.06%.

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.