Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Loblaw Companies Limited’s stock recently surpassed its two hundred day moving average, trading as high as C$225.00 before settling at C$223.56.
• Equity analysts have raised their price targets for Loblaw, with TD Securities forecasting a price of C$250.00 and a consensus rating currently standing at "Moderate Buy."
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5643 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 1.0%, to be paid on October 1st.

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$207.04 and traded as high as C$225.00. Loblaw Companies shares last traded at C$223.56, with a volume of 255,028 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on L shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$210.00 to C$253.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Desjardins upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$230.00 to C$235.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$234.00 to C$267.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$245.00 to C$250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$244.50.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of C$68.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$223.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$208.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.5643 per share. This represents a $2.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Loblaw Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 4,000 shares of the company's 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 Frank Gambioli sold 1,304 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$213.87, for a total value of C$278,880.09. Insiders have sold a total of 11,404 shares of company stock valued at $2,572,513 in the last three months. 53.77% of the stock is owned by company 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.