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

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$176.43.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$157.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC upped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. National Bankshares raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the 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 transaction of C$48,884.02. In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the 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. Also, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 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 transaction of C$27,084.39. Insiders have sold a total of 38,460 shares of company stock worth $6,037,349 in the last three months. Insiders own 53.53% of the company's stock.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of L traded up C$0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching C$175.92. 179,239 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 359,272. The business's fifty day simple moving average is C$168.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$157.66. The firm has a market capitalization of C$53.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$110.52 and a twelve month high of C$176.63.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.07 billion. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 3.46%. Analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 8.5218888 earnings per share for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Loblaw Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.97%.

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.