Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$226.62 and last traded at C$226.62, with a volume of 50655 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$225.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on L. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Desjardins increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$185.00 to C$230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. National Bankshares lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$207.00 to C$234.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$200.00 to C$220.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$208.00 to C$234.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$236.88.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11. The company has a market cap of C$65.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$204.39 and a 200-day moving average price of C$190.90.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies's payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total transaction of C$19,046,690.91. Also, Senior Officer Jeffrey Francis Leger sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$227.50, for a total value of C$455,000.00. Insiders have sold a total of 157,380 shares of company stock valued at $29,526,299 in the last 90 days. 53.77% of the stock is 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.