Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Upgraded by Scotiabank to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

L has been the topic of several other reports. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group set a C$225.00 price target on Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. National Bankshares increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Desjardins increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$197.00.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:L opened at C$191.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32. Loblaw Companies has a 1-year low of C$125.66 and a 1-year high of C$196.49. The stock has a market capitalization of C$58.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$184.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$174.63.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 31.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total value of C$399,297.45. Corporate insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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.