Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$236.88.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$234.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. CIBC lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$208.00 to C$234.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$210.00 to C$253.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Desjardins lifted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$185.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

L traded down C$3.17 during trading on Friday, hitting C$221.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 493,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,853. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$152.76 and a twelve month high of C$235.17. The business's fifty day simple moving average is C$217.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$196.89. The firm has a market capitalization of C$66.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.5643 per share. This is an increase from Loblaw Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Loblaw Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 4,000 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$227.00, for a total value of C$908,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Jeffrey Francis Leger sold 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$230.50, for a total value of C$783,700.00. Insiders have sold 27,328 shares of company stock worth $6,132,567 over the last quarter. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.