Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$199.25 and traded as high as C$223.43. Loblaw Companies shares last traded at C$222.69, with a volume of 233,710 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on L shares. Desjardins increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$185.00 to C$230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$234.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$210.00 to C$253.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$195.00 to C$245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Loblaw Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$236.88.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 0.1%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$221.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$199.90. 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$67.23 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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 Per Bank sold 13,924 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$223.00, for a total value of C$3,105,054.78. Insiders sold 27,328 shares of company stock valued at $6,132,567 in the last three months. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.