Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as C$220.61 and last traded at C$220.43, with a volume of 74048 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$216.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

L has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$207.00 to C$234.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$200.00 to C$220.00 in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$210.00 to C$253.00 in a research note on Thursday. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$208.00 to C$234.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$195.00 to C$245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$236.88.

Loblaw Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of C$68.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.54, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$200.62 and a 200-day moving average of C$189.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies's payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard Dufresne sold 25,783 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total transaction of C$4,809,847.01. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total transaction of C$19,046,690.91. Insiders have sold 141,456 shares of company stock worth $25,966,244 in the last quarter. Insiders own 53.77% of the company's stock.

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.