Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$176.43.

A number of research firms have issued reports on L. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Desjardins lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$157.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Loblaw Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of TSE:L traded down C$0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$177.74. The company had a trading volume of 215,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 365,870. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$172.22 and a 200 day moving average price of C$161.25. The company has a market capitalization of C$54.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, 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 current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Loblaw Companies has a one year low of C$110.52 and a one year high of C$182.19.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported C$2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$2.14 by C$0.01. The company had revenue of C$13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.07 billion. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.46% and a return on equity of 19.22%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies will post 9.5804503 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Loblaw Companies's payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total transaction of C$27,084.39. In other Loblaw Companies 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 value of C$27,084.39. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 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 value of C$48,884.02. 53.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Loblaw Companies

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.