Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives C$197.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$201.88.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. National Bankshares lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Desjardins upped their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$203.00 to C$202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a C$225.00 target price on shares of Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total transaction of C$399,297.45. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$182.93 on Tuesday. Loblaw Companies has a 52 week low of C$127.17 and a 52 week high of C$196.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$186.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$176.71. The stock has a market cap of C$55.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 31.06%.

About Loblaw Companies

Loblaw is one of Canada’s largest grocery, pharmacy, and general merchandise retailers, operating the most expansive store footprint in Ontario and maintaining sizable presences in provinces like Quebec and British Columbia. Key grocery banners include Loblaw, No Frills, and Maxi, while its pharmaceutical operations are the product of its 2014 acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart.