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

Key Points

• Loblaw Companies has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with seven analysts covering the stock: four recommend buying and three recommend holding. The average 12-month price target is C$69.25.
• Several analysts recently trimmed their outlooks, including CIBC, Scotiabank, and Scotia, which all lowered price targets and in some cases downgraded their ratings on the stock.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of C$0.52 per share on revenue of C$14.48 billion and also raised its quarterly dividend to C$0.1552 per share, boosting the annualized yield to about 1.0%.

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$69.25.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on L shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank cut Loblaw Companies from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a C$70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Scotia cut their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insider Activity

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total value of C$670,000.00. Also, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$66.72, for a total transaction of C$321,590.40. 53.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Loblaw Companies Stock Up 1.2%

Loblaw Companies stock traded up C$0.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$64.18. 944,891 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,382,580. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of C$74.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$62.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$63.23. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$52.92 and a 12 month high of C$69.59.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.52 earnings per share for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The firm had revenue of C$14.48 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a $0.1552 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Loblaw Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Loblaw Companies's payout ratio is presently 24.53%.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

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. The firm carries a robust private-label assortment, with top sellers like President's Choice and No Name. In addition to its retail operations, Loblaw oversees a financial-services business, which provides credit card services and guaranteed investment certificates, and also operates its PC Optimum loyalty program.

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