Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Receives C$197.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$201.88.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. National Bankshares boosted their price target 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 price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group set a C$225.00 target price on Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$203.00 to C$202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of TSE:L opened at C$184.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of C$56.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$186.36 and a 200 day moving average price of C$176.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$126.15 and a twelve month high of C$196.49.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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