Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target Raised to C$180.00

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price target increased by BMO Capital Markets from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a report released on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on L. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$148.27 to C$161.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Securities increased their price target 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. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$156.00 to C$159.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$171.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Desjardins increased their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$176.43.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of TSE:L opened at C$168.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$160.89 and a 200 day moving average of C$150.90. The stock has a market cap of C$51.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$110.52 and a 12 month high of C$171.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported C$1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.70 by C$0.02. The company had revenue of C$13.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$13.29 billion. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 18.96%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies will post 8.3923706 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Melanie Singh sold 1,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$155.09, for a total value of C$227,046.05. In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Melanie Singh sold 1,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$155.09, for a total transaction of C$227,046.05. Also, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 9,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$156.66, for a total transaction of C$1,476,488.46. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,929 shares of company stock valued at $13,160,644. Corporate insiders own 53.29% 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.