Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Brokerages give Loblaw a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating: Four analysts rate the stock a buy, one a strong buy and two a hold. The average 12-month price target is C$71.00.
• Loblaw shares opened at C$64.09, with a market capitalization of C$74.59 billion and a 52-week range of C$52.92 to C$69.59. The company reported quarterly revenue of C$15.05 billion and earnings of C$0.66 per share.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to C$0.1552 per share, equivalent to an annualized C$0.62 dividend and a 1.0% yield.

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$71.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on L. Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities raised shares of Loblaw Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Scotia upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$64.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, National Bank Financial raised their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Loblaw Companies Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of TSE L opened at C$64.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 151.15, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business's 50 day moving average price is C$64.45 and its 200-day moving average price is C$63.65. Loblaw Companies has a fifty-two week low of C$52.92 and a fifty-two week high of C$69.59. The company has a market cap of C$74.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.16, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.14.

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

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors 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 an increase from Loblaw Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Loblaw Companies's payout ratio is currently 24.51%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total transaction of C$670,000.00. Also, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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. 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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