Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$196.20 and last traded at C$195.60, with a volume of 207042 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$192.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on L shares. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Loblaw Companies from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a C$200.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$199.38.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of C$59.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$185.01 and a 200-day moving average price of C$183.01.

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Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 11,309 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total value of C$2,109,706.39. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total transaction of C$19,046,690.91. 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.

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.