Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Given New C$148.27 Price Target at Scotiabank

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its target price lifted by Scotiabank from C$146.00 to C$148.27 in a report released on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on L. CIBC reduced their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$149.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. TD Securities lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$153.00 to C$156.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$154.04.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$152.43 on Monday. Loblaw Companies has a one year low of C$110.52 and a one year high of C$154.70. The company has a market cap of C$47.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is C$147.93 and its 200 day moving average price is C$132.44.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.92 by C$0.08. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 3.53%. The firm had revenue of C$14.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.58 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 8.4881297 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.446 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$2,487,450.00. In other news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total transaction of C$662,832.00. Also, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total value of C$2,487,450.00. Insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,163 in the last three months. 52.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

Loblaw Companies Limited, a food and pharmacy company, provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparels, general merchandise, financial services, and wireless mobile products and services in Canada. It operates in two segments, Retail and Financial Services. The Retail segment operates corporate and franchise-owned retail food, and associate-owned drug stores.