Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Reaches New 52-Week High at $22.99

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$22.99 and last traded at C$171.68, with a volume of 79060 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$171.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on L. National Bankshares increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$148.27 to C$161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$176.43.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

The business's 50 day simple moving average is C$164.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$154.92. The stock has a market capitalization of C$52.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 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.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported C$2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of C$2.14 by C$0.01. The company had revenue of C$13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.07 billion. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 3.46%. Research analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies Limited will post 8.5147929 earnings per share for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Loblaw Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. In other news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total transaction of C$27,084.39. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$48,884.02. Insiders have sold a total of 53,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,367,229 over the last three months. Company insiders own 53.39% of the company's stock.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

Loblaw Companies Limited, a food and pharmacy company, provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparels, general merchandise, financial services, and wireless mobile products and services in Canada. It operates in two segments, Retail and Financial Services. The Retail segment operates corporate and franchise-owned retail food, and associate-owned drug stores.