Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average of $160.53

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$160.53 and traded as high as C$177.37. Loblaw Companies shares last traded at C$177.31, with a volume of 300,925 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities boosted 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 note on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. National Bankshares upped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Desjardins upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$157.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Loblaw Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$176.43.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of C$53.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.17. The business's 50 day moving average is C$171.30 and its 200-day moving average is C$160.53.

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

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Loblaw Companies's payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other news, 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. In related news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the business'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 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 own 53.53% of the company's stock.

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.