Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Given a C$75.00 Price Target by TD Analysts

Key Points

• TD assigned Loblaw Companies a C$75.00 price target and “buy” rating, implying 22.25% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$71.44; several firms recently raised their targets.
• Loblaw shares fell 1.7% to C$61.35 during Thursday trading. The company recently reported quarterly revenue of C$15.05 billion and earnings of C$0.66 per share, while insiders have sold shares worth about C$16.6 million over the past 90 days.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L - Get Free Report) has been given a C$75.00 price objective by investment analysts at TD in a research report issued on Thursday, BayStreet reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. TD's target price suggests a potential upside of 22.25% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Scotia raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$64.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Desjardins increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Securities raised Loblaw Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$71.44.

Loblaw Companies Trading Down 1.7%

Loblaw Companies stock traded down C$1.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching C$61.35. The stock had a trading volume of 821,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,334,106. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$52.92 and a twelve month high of C$69.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 151.15, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of C$70.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.06. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is C$63.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$63.12.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.66 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$15.05 billion for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 25.25% and a net margin of 4.32%. Equities analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Per Bank sold 39,762 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$62.01, for a total value of C$2,465,641.62. Following the transaction, the insider owned 203,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$12,626,662.23. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Mark William Henry Wilson sold 24,496 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$62.68, for a total transaction of C$1,535,409.28. Insiders have sold 267,881 shares of company stock valued at $16,627,713 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 53.77% of the company's stock.

About Loblaw Companies

Loblaw is Canada's food and pharmacy leader, and the nation's largest retailer. Loblaw provides Canadians with grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, financial services and wireless mobile products and services. With more than 2,800 corporate franchised and Associate-owned locations, Loblaw, its franchisees and Associate-owners employ more than 220,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada's largest private sector employers. Loblaw's purpose - Live Life Well® - puts first the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion transactions annually in the company's stores.

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